Out of Control
by Takeshi Takeo
Summary: Zombie in the Shinobi world? Follow Naruto and his friends as they try to survive what has happened. Naru/Saku Kiba/Hina Chou/Ino Shika/Tema. Rated M: Blood/Gore, Language, Sexuality. On Hold
1. Chapter 1

**Out of Control**

_This is a Naruto/Zombie fiction story, and my first story ever. Warning: OOC! This has pairings also (Of course), mainly NaruSaku. KibaHina, ChoujIno, and ShikaTema are the rest. Also this is going to start when Naruto and the rest are at the age of thirteen. I'm not really a good writer, so give me some advice for me to become better, I would really appreciate it. Enjoy and please review. _

Note: (Sakura thinks Sasuke is like family, she doesn't like him that way in my story. She will be saying the prefix -kun to Naruto instead of Sasuke. Naruto also does not know that Sakura no longer "loves" Sasuke in that way. So yeah, that's it.)

Chapter One: Hyuuga Problem

Tsunade is in her office doing the paperwork that she piled up the day before. Then the door in front of her burst open and she shot her head up quickly.

"What's the meaning of!… What the hell happened to you two…"

Team 7 is training where they usually train, and that is by the bridge. Naruto and Sasuke are sparring, while Sakura was watching from the side. Naruto and Sasuke became very good friends, ever since Sasuke declined Orochimaru's offer (Sasuke is going to be a good guy in this story, just so you know). These two would come meet everyday to train to become stronger than ever. However, Sasuke isn't the only one who became close to Naruto, Sakura has also. Naruto and Sakura are inseparable… well, except maybe in some cases, but they spend most of their time together. Naruto does not have a crush on Sakura, he has more serious feelings for her. Sakura, however, is confused. She got over her crush on Sasuke, surprisingly, and now she has these feelings for Naruto that she never had before. She doesn't know how to react to these feelings, but she is trying to figure them out.

"**Rasengan**!" "**Chidori**!" Naruto and Sasuke charging at each other at full force. All of a sudden, Kakashi jumped in and stopped both their attack by grabbing both of his student's wrist.

"Kakashi-sensei! What was that for!" yelled Naruto.

"Sorry, but the Hokage needs our assistants. Meet at the Hokage Tower as soon as possible." said Kakashi and then he disappeared in a poof.

"We'll finish this later teme." said Naruto with his usual grin.

"What ever dobe. You know who would've won." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Yeah, me!" Naruto replied while chuckling

Sasuke turned around and headed towards the Hokage Tower, before he left he turned his head and said, "We should hurry, we don't want to be late, do we?"

Sakura rushed over to Naruto and looked at his bruises and cuts. Being Hokage's apprentice, she knew how to heal the wounds Naruto has. She put her hands over his right arm, where the biggest cut was noticeable.

"Naruto-kun, you and Sasuke need to me more careful." said Sakura with a worried face.

Naruto looked at her with a frown. He does not like her when she looks worried, especially when she cries. He hates that. "Sakura-chan, I'm fine, and don't worry, me and Sasuke won't kill each other."

"I know, I just don't want to see you guys hurt. Especially you." Naruto smiled when she said that to him. It made him feel special when she said 'especially you' to him.

She looked up at Naruto and gave him a genuine, cute smile. Naruto gave her his famous grin in return.

'Oh Kami, he is cute with that grin of his.' she said to herself.

'**Cute? Just cute!? He's handsome, Shannaro!' yelled Inner-Sakura.**

"**You ok, Sakura-chan? You kind of spaced out there." asked Naruto while waving his hand in front of her face.**

"**Oh, no, no, no, I'm fine Naruto-kun! Really!" Sakura said quickly with a nervous smile and a light pick color above her cheeks. Naruto chuckled at her reaction.**

"**Well, we should get going, we don't want the old hag to wait on us." Naruto said while still laughing.**

**Then Naruto felt a little sharp pain on the back of his head. **

"**Baka, can't you show some respect? She is the Hokage you know?" said Sakura with her weight pressing down her right leg and her arms crossed. **

"**Well you didn't have to hit me, Sakura-chan." Naruto whined while scratching the back or his head.**

**Once Naruto and Sakura arrived at the Hokage tower, Kakashi led his team to the Hokage's room. "Alright, I must warn you… this might be a bit of a shock." Kakashi warned then knocked on the Hokage door.**

"**Come in!" was heard and Team 7 walked in. Everyone except Kakashi's and Tsunade's face were in shock.**

**Naruto was the first to speak. "H-hinata? N-neji? What the hell happen to you guys!" What Naruto and the rest saw was Hinata and Neji seated covered in blood and their body were trembling. Fear is what is shown on both of the Hyuuga's face. Naruto ran up to Hinata and laid down both of his hands on both of her shoulders. "Hinata… what happened?"**

**Tears start flooded Hinata's eyes, and she immediately gave Naruto a tight hug. She sobbed continuously on Naruto's shoulder. He was confused and he wanted answers to what had happened. "What happened?" asked Naruto to Tsunade with a serious tone.**

"**S-something happened at our mansion… I-it happened s-so quickly…" Neji replied with a stutter.**

"**I'll tell them Neji, it will be quicker." Tsunade said. Neji nodded and the Hokage continued, "Neji told me there was someone or something in the Hyuuga Mansion who has been going around killing everyone it sees. But there is another problem, when the thing bites, the person who has been bitten turns into one of 'them'. Neji and Hinata saw Hiashi being dragged off, and they are worried about Hanabi. They believe she's still alive. That's is why I called you here. This is an A-ranked mission, you are to find Hanabi and any other survivors from this attack. I know I shouldn't give you guys this mission but I trust you guys to complete it. Don't worry your not going alone, we asked Asuma's team to join you. They will be here in any second."**

**Naruto loosened his grip on the hug and stared into Hinata's eyes and said, "Don't worry Hinata, we'll get your sister. That's a promise."**

"**Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said quietly with tears still rolling down her face.**

**Then the Hokage door swung open and there stood Asuma, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino. Asuma already heard the news, but his students haven't. Shikamaru,'s Chouji's, and Ino's face was no different expressions than Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had. Tsunade explained what happened and she went over on the mission. "Everyone got it?" asked Tsunade.**

"**Hai!" said the two teams. **

"**Now, go prepare. This isn't going to be an easy search. Good luck and be careful." Tsunade said. With that everyone left the room except for Hinata and Neji. Everyone separated except for Sakura and Naruto to go get the weapons and other things they need. Sakura is quite nervous, and a little scared. Sakura looked at the ground with her hair hiding her face. She has tears begging to poor down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry. Not in front of Naruto. She then suddenly saw a hand coming towards her face. The hand lifted her chin up and she came face to face with Naruto. **

"**What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"**

"**Uh, nothing Naruto-kun. Nothing's wrong." She replied with a smile, but a single tear ran down her cheek which made Naruto more curious.**

"**Tell me Sakura. I know something is bothering you." When she heard her name without the honorific, she then knew he was serious.**

"**It's just that… I'm afraid something will go wrong." She said with more tears running down her face.**

**Naruto gave her a gentle smile. "You don't have to worry Sakura-chan. I'll make sure we all come out of this alive, and unhurt. That's a promise." Sakura looked deep into to his blue eyes, and she knew he would never break a promise. She return a small smile, and hugged him with all her strength. **

**Team 10 and Team 7 looked at the front entrance which lead inside the Hyuuga Mansion. From the news they heard from the Hokage, they were all nervous. Even Kakashi and Asuma didn't know what to expect, so they have to be extra cautious. On the door was a seal, most likely Neji or Hinata put up so whatever is in there wouldn't get out. **

"**Alright, lets head in, but be on extra alert. We don't want anything bad to happen." said Kakashi. They all nodded, and Kakashi removed the seal, then pushed the door to enter.**

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

_Well here you go readers, second chapter to __**Out of Control**__. Thank to those who reviewed, and to the people who read my story. Please, keep the reviews coming. I would appreciate it! Now, on t=with the story! Enjoy!_

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Chapter Two: Mission Gone Wrong

The door opened slowly, while making a creek sound. Kakashi was the first to enter the mansion, followed by Asuma and the rest. When they entered, all they see is that the place is deserted. They walked to the middle of the mansion, which was an open area where the sun shines down upon.

Kakashi walks up to the tree that was in the open area. "This is not good. Asuma, come look at this."

"Holy shit…" was all Asuma was able to say. What he saw were blood smears all around the tree. Hand prints are noticeable, and the rest were big spots of blood in different areas. Then everyone heard a bang coming from one of the rooms to their left. Everyone immediately pulled out their kunai.

"What was that?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

"I'm not sure." Kakashi moved slowly to the door they heard the sound from. Once at the door, he moved to the side of the door and leaned against a wall. He pulled down the left side of his mask and lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye. Then he signaled the rest to move to the side, just incase something were to pop out. He slowly reached the knob on the door, and turned it. The door opened, and nothing can be seen from the inside, it was pitch black.

"I can't see anyt-" Kakashi was interrupted when all of a sudden, a body was thrown out of the door. Quietly he told everyone to back away from the door.

After a minute passed, they heard something walking out of the room from where the body was thrown out. A figure slowly came out of the room, limping on one of its leg. The figure didn't seem to notice the group was there to his left, and it kept walking toward the body it threw. Ino took one step back and the wooden floor creaked. The figure immediately stopped in its tracks and turn to where the sound came from. 'Shit' she thought to herself. When 'it' turned, Kakashi's and Asuma's eyes widened for that they know who it was.

"H-hiashi, your alive." Asuma said while moving forward, when suddenly Kakashi's hand stopped him from moving. "What are you doing, Kakashi?"

"Have you forgotten what Hokage-sama told us. Hiashi was dragged away by this thing, and if the person was bitten it will turn into one of 'them'? We have to be careful."

"I think he's one of 'them' now Kakashi-sensei. I mean look at him." Naruto said. Kakashi looked at him again, but this time he looked at every detail.

Kakashi moved forward toward Hiashi, slowly, "Hiashi, are you alright." Suddenly, Hiashi ran toward Kakashi quickly then stopped, while breathing heavily. Kakashi's face went from surprised to sorrow because he now knows that Hiashi wasn't himself anymore. Hiashi has blood surrounding around his mouth, teeth. He has blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. His teeth now looked sharper than human teeth, an nails were a lot sharper than average.

Everyone behind Kakashi had a scared and surprised look on their face. Then all the attention was on Kakashi when he suddenly made his hand seals. _Ox-Rabbit-Monkey_. Lightning surrounded his right hand, then he charged at Hiashi. Hiashi, however, reacted the by charging at Kakashi.

"**Raikiri**!" The sound of bone breaking and flesh being torn was heard. Kakashi's hand went through Hiashi's head. His hand and parts of his upper-arm were covered in Hiashi's blood. Kakashi slowly pulled out his hand from the dead Hiashi.

"We should get going, and look for Hanabi and any other survivors." Asuma finally said.

"But, shouldn't we be split into groups?" asked Shikamaru.

"What! Are you crazy!? Why would we do that!?" shouted Naruto.

"Shhh, be quiet will you? We don't want to attract more of these things. The reason why I said it was because there are a lot of rooms to cover. I think it will be quicker if we split up." Shikamaru answered. 'troublesome.'

"That's true. Can you three work together? Kakashi said while looking at Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. All of them nodded. "How about you three?" said to the other three Genin. They also nodded. "Well, I will be going with Asuma to find other survivors. Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, you three will looking for Hanabi and/or any survivors. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you three will be mainly looking for Hanabi, but if you find any survivors, bring them with you. I trust you guys to look out for each other. Good Luck." With that Kakashi and Asuma ran to check the East side of the mansion.

Naruto looked at Asuma's team and gave them grin. "Good luck guys!" They smiled in response, and headed their way to the West side of the mansion.

Naruto started to walk towards the north side and found out he was only walking with Sasuke. He turned around and saw Sakura standing with a worried look that Naruto saw before. He gave her a warm smile which told her to remember his promise. She smiled back and ran up to her teammates.

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Kakashi and Asuma had already checked the first four rooms upstairs. They haven't found any survivors. What they did find though, was blood stained walls, furniture's ripped and moved around, pictures and mirrors ripped and shattered on the floor.

They walked towards the next room, but before they entered they heard a heavy breathing behind the door. Kakashi quietly put his ear on the door to make sure he is hearing correctly. Before his ear touched the door, an arm busted through the door and grabbed Kakashi's face and yanked him through the door and into the room. The thing threw Kakashi against a wall in the back of the room.

"Kakashi!" yelled Asuma while pulling out his trenched knives. He charge at the monster from behind but the monster twisted around and swung his fist into Asuma's face. He flew into the wall that was connected to the wall Kakashi was thrown against. Kakashi looked up and saw it was a Hyuuga (Go figure.). When he looked closer he saw that the Hyuuga had his Bakyugan activated.

"What the hell? Asuma, it has its Bakyugan activated. Trying to hit him when it is not looking wont work."

"Alright, what do you think we should do?"

The Hyuuga was standing with blood pouring down the corner or his mouth. He was growling, like a hissing sound combined with and angry human growl. His head was turning to Kakashi, then to Asuma and repeated continuously.

Then Kakashi went to strike with his kunai. The infected Hyuuga reacted by immediately running towards Kakashi. With quick thinking, he moved to the side and the Hyuuga missed his target. Kakashi then strike his kunai towards the his target. But the infected grabbed Kakashi's wrist before he hit. "Shit!" Kakashi was horrified when he saw the infected had its head coming towards Kakashi's neck. It was going to bite him.

"Kakashi!!!" Asuma screamed while tackling the infected of Kakashi and stabbed his trench knives into the infected Hyuuga's head. The infected body went limp, only being held up by Asuma's knives. Asuma pulled out his knives and the body fell to the floor. Asuma quickly put away his knives and went to Kakashi. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You didn't get bit, did you?" Kakashi then checked for any bite marks around his neck. He shook his head no when he didn't find any. "Alright, well we should hurry and find any survivors. We don't want to linger."

"Yeah, I hope our students are safe. These things are tougher than I thought." Kakashi said while looking at the dead body of the infected Hyuuga.

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Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino were walking to their fourteenth room. They only have twelve to go.

"This is troublesome. We haven't even found one survivor and we already been through fourteen rooms." Shikamaru said.

"Just as long we don't find one of those things, I'm fine." Ino exclaimed.

When they reached their next room, they heard a sob. "You guys hear that?" Chouji asked.

"Alright to be safe, I'm going to use my Kage Mane to stop any movements inside." Shikamaru said. "Ino, open the door."

Ino open the door and quickly moved to the side. _Rat_ was the seal Shikamaru did. He felt that his jutsu caught someone or something inside. " I caught something, You two go in and see. Don't worry, it wont be able to move." Ino and Chouji then went in.

What the two saw was this woman who was in the same position as Shikamaru was. This woman has blood all over her clothe, she has tears running down her cheeks.

"Shikamaru, it's a woman. I think you can release your jutsu." Chouji said. Once he heard what Chouji said, he release the jutsu and walked in the room.

"Konnichiwa, my name is Ino. This is my team, and we are here to evacuate survivors. Are you alright?"

The woman was now backed up into the corner. She was shaking and she slowly turned her head to the Genins. She slowly nodded yes.

"Alright, if you would kindly follow us, we will look for other surviv-" Chouji was cut out by the frightened woman.

"No, I'm not going back out there!!!"

"Calm down ma'am, you can trust us. We will protect you, and there are five others outside looking for others. Don't worry, your safe." Shikamaru said while holding out his hand. The woman first hesitated, but then she accepted his hand. They led her outside and continued their search.

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"Nothing in here, but just another room with blood everywhere." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan… come look at this." Naruto said from outside. When the two got outside, they saw blood stains on the ground. "It looks like something dragged a body upstairs. How could we have missed this?! I mean, come on!"

"Calm down, dobe. Lets follow where it leads." Sasuke said while walking where the blood led to.

Once the three walked up the stairs, they found the door to the room where the trail of blood ended. But the trail that they followed weren't the only trail leading to the room. They saw a lot more blood trails leading to the door. Naruto slowly moved to the door and put his hand on the knob. He look back at his two teammates. They both nodded, and Naruto turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Oh, dear Kami…" said Sakura while covering her mouth with both of her hands. Sasuke eyes went wide, and his mouth was slightly open from what he saw. Naruto has his Anime-face of "I'm going to puke" and ran out the door. What they saw was a pile of Hyuuga members, all dead. Heads, limbs, and organs were mashed together. Blood was covered everywhere, the stench of the carcass was horrible, and the sight was frightening.

"Who, or what could have done t-this." Sasuke said with a hint of fear in his voice. "…Doesn't look like anyone is in here besides the dead. Lets go."

Sakura nodded and headed out with Sasuke. She saw Naruto outside against a wall, trying to catch his breath. "Naruto-kun, you alright?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I just can't believe someone or thing would do such a thing." Then suddenly, Naruto felt a hand touch his face. He looked at Sakura with a confused face, but also he couldn't hide the blush.

"I know, Naruto. But it will be over soon. Once we get Hanabi and the rest out, Tsunade-sama will figure out what happened here and she'll find a way to fix it." said Sakura with a smile that brightens Naruto's day, any day.

Naruto gave Sakura a small smile, "Thank you, Sakura-chan."

"Hey, you two. Get over here, I hear someone inside." Sasuke said while standing next to a door. Both Sakura and Naruto walked up next Sasuke. "Can you hear, it sounds like a girl talking to an adult."

"Alright, We should head in. But just to safe." Naruto formed a **Rasengan** on his right palm.

Sasuke knew not to use his **Chidori** since it was too noisy. He didn't want to attract anything. At least the **Rasengan** wasn't as loud or as noisy. Sasuke put his hand on the door knob, and pulled out a kunai in the process. Sakura pulled out her kunai and went into a defensive position. Sasuke quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open. Naruto rushed in and heard a cry, "Please don't hurt, please!"

Naruto dispelled his ball of chakra and asked, "Who is in here?"

"I'm H-hanabi, and t-this is Ayaka."

When they heard the name Hanabi, it sure brightened up the three Genin's day. "Hanabi, we are here to save. Come on, lets go!" yelled Naruto.

"Those things are still out there! It will kill us!" screamed Ayaka.

"Not when we're here." Sakura said with her hand out. Hanabi stared at her hand for awhile, then slowly took it. "Good, now lets go."

They all went outside and continued their search. Once they reached the last room they had to check, Naruto first spoke, "Well, this is our last room. Lets hurry and get this over wit-" CRACK! The door busted open, and an infected Hyuuga pounced in Ayaka. "Oh, fuck!!!" yelled Naruto. Naruto ran and tackled the infected off of Ayaka before it bit her, but it was too late, she was bitten. Naruto quickly grabbed his kunai and sliced the Hyuuga monster's neck, which ended up having Naruto's orange jacket covered in blood.

"Shit, shit, shit! Ayaka, you alright!?" Naruto ran up to check on her. Sakura had Hanabi in her arms. Sasuke was trying to figure out what to do. Ayaka is on the ground puking out blood, screaming at the top of her lungs. The scream was loud enough to make Kakashi and the others to run out to see what happened.

"Oh, shit… Naruto! Get away from her, now!!!!" yelled Kakashi. Naruto looked at Kakashi then back to Ayaka, who is now infected. His eyes widen when Ayaka charged at Naruto. Ayaka tackled Naruto, which knocked both her and Naruto off of the second level of the Hyuuga Mansion. Naruto hit his back against the ground while Ayaka added more pressure on his body when she landed on top of him. Naruto coughed and couldn't breathe from the impact. Ayaka soon turned her head back to Naruto quickly crawled like a madwoman. Naruto, trying to catch his breath while moving away from the infected, was dragged back. "Naruto!!!" screamed the running Kakashi while preparing his **Raikiri**, while Asuma followed with his trench knives.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sakura couldn't move. Her mind was telling her to, but she wouldn't budge. 'Come on! What am I doing! MOVE!'

"AHHHH!" is what was heard from Naruto. Kakashi strikes his **Raikiri **at Ayaka, and Asuma quickly ran to Naruto. 'Oh no.' Asuma thought. Naruto received the bite from the left side of his neck, and it was deep. Blood was gushing out and it doesn't seem to be stopping.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Kakashi grabbed Naruto and quickly ran out. Sakura and the rest followed. Sakura was really worried for Naruto. She literally was screaming at herself in her mind for not doing anything. Sasuke thought the same thing. Sasuke yelled at himself for not acting and saving Naruto.

"Asuma-sensei! The door!" yelled Ino. Asuma turned around as quick as he can and headed for the mansion. 'How could we be so careless! Shit!' thought Asuma.

Asuma landed and was about to put a "lock" seal on the door, until he noticed bloody footprints leading out of the mansion towards the rest of the village.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, this took way longer than expected, and I apologize for that. I want to thank you for people who read and/or reviewed. I want some more reviews and I want to hear what you guys think so please do tell. I thank you, and enjoy this chapter. I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible.

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Chapter Three: Unstable 

"Tsunade!" screeched Shizune as she burst in the Hokage's room. Shizune heard what happened to Naruto during their search-and-rescue mission for Hanabi and the survivors. "Naruto has been bitten by those things inside the Hyuuga Mansion! He's in the hospital right now!"

Tsunade, who was standing looking outside her window behind her desk, dropped her bottle of sake and bolted past Shizune. Shizune quickly followed Tsunade towards Konoha's Hospital.

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Sakura has her hands cup her face, covering her chin up to the end of the bridge of her nose. Tears poured freely down her cheeks. All she could think of was Naruto. She saw the bite mark on his neck, and it wasn't the most pleasant sight she ever saw. No, it is the most unpleasant sight she ever saw, and to top that, she knew what would happen if a person were to be bitten by one of those things they saw at the mansion.

Sakura suddenly felt someone's hand on her right shoulder. She looked up and saw Sasuke, who was looking down at her with a small, sad smile on his face. "Sakura, don't worry. Remember what Kakashi-sensei told us. There is a chance that Naruto might not turn into one of those things. Naruto doesn't seem to be changing when he was supposed to, so he should be fine."

"I know Sasuke, but there is still a chance that he could turn into one of those things." Sakura countered with a sad tone in her voice.

"Don't say that Sakura…Don't lose faith in him. Besides, he seems to figure his way out in the toughest situations, what makes you think he won't in this predicament." Sasuke said with complete confidence. Sakura created a small smile on her face after hearing what Sasuke said. He was right, Naruto always finds a way to get out through tough and dangerous situations. Now, instead of sad and horrible thoughts, she has full confidence that Naruto will live. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she saw her shishou with Shizune rushing into the Emergency Room.

"Seems like Hokage-sama heard what happened to Naruto." said Kakashi, who suddenly appeared in front of his students.

"What happened to Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru?" asked Sasuke.

"They will be here soon. They had to do something before coming here." Sasuke nodded, and sat down next to Sakura and waited patiently.

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"Tsunade, shouldn't he be one of those things by now?" asked on of the medics in the ER. Tsunade said nothing for awhile, she was too busy wondering the same thing. Then, finally she knew the answer.

"It's the Kyuubi." Tsunade exclaimed. "I think the demon is, somehow, keeping Naruto from being one of them."

"That would make sense. Kakashi told me that his students witnessed Hyuuga Ayaka being battened, she turned into one of those monsters in a couple of seconds. This is good news for Naruto. For now lets heal his bite mark, and let him rest. Do you agree Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. Tsunade nodded and walked to the left side of Naruto's neck where the deep bite mark was. She placed her left and over the wound and her right hand over her left. Her hand began to glow an aqua-like color, and Naruto's deep wound began to cover up with new skin tissue.

"There, that should do it. Take him to a room and let him rest." Shizune nodded, and Tsunade was already out of the ER. When she exited, she saw Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru looking at her. Sakura quickly got up and took one step forward. She looked at Tsunade with a concerned look. Tsunade stared at her for a few seconds before she gave her a smile that told Sakura the answer she wanted to know. Sakura ran and gave Tsunade a tight hug. "Thank you." Sakura whispered, but it was enough for her teacher to here.

While still in the hug, Tsunade looked toward Sasuke. He gave her a smile, and she saw him gave her a 'thank you' from the way his lips moved. She nodded and looked at Kakashi. He looked like he was relieved to hear his student was safe. Sakura finally released her grip from Tsunade and silently asked if she could go see Naruto.

(Note: Well, if you were wondering how Shizune got Naruto to a room without coming out the way Tsunade came, just imagine there was another way out. I couldn't really figure out how to fit the part in so, yeah, sorry.)

"Yes, you can. Find Shizune and ask which room he is in." with that, Sakura was off. 'Dear Kami, you really love him that much, Sakura?' Tsunade thought as she saw Sakura running. Tsunade then walked up to Kakashi and told him that she needed to talk. Sasuke and the others decided to follow Sakura and check on how Naruto was doing. Tsunade and Kakashi were now alone.

"Alright, Hatake I got some good news. Naruto will not be turning into one of 'them', nor will he ever. Kyuubi seems to prevent Naruto from changing, so he will be fine."

"That is good news. But what are you going to do with 'them' in the mansion. I mean, these things are still in the-"

"Hokage-sama!" Asuma interrupted. "This (pant) is not (pant) good! Those- (cough)"

"Asuma, catch your breath! What is it?!" roared Tsunade.

A couple seconds later, Asuma continued, "Those things, they got out! I followed the footprints because I thought I could kill it before it reached anybody else." Kakashi's and Tsunade's eyes widened in fear.

"Please tell me you killed it!" Tsunade demanded an answer.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama! I tried, but the thing bit a civilian, and then those fucking things doubled in seconds! There are too many of them for me to handle!"

"Shit!!!" Tsunade ran to the nearest window and looked out. She saw a civilian being dragged into an alley, screaming for dear life. "We have to stabilize the situation, and fast. Kakashi, Asuma! You two warn all Jounins about this situation. I'll warn the ANBUs. Before you go to any Jounins, I suggest you tell Kurenai, Gai to tell their students to meet up at the Hokage tower. After that's done save as many as you can. Now go!" Kakashi and Asuma were now nowhere in sight. 'This is not good at all.'

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Sakura was sitting on a chair beside the unconscious Naruto. Even though he was fine, she couldn't find herself to not worry. She gently placed her hand on top of Naruto's, and rubbed her thumb against his skin. Then she heard the doorknob turn and her gaze went from Naruto to the group that walked through the door.

"How is he?" asked Sasuke while quickly walking up to the hospital bed. The others followed behind Sasuke.

Sakura gazed back down at Naruto, "He seems to be fine. He hasn't woken yet, but-"

"Ugh… S-sakura-chan?" Naruto said quietly with his eyes slightly opened. Then he glanced over to the rest of the Genins in the room. "What happened?"

"You were bit, dobe! You gave us quite a scare!" voiced Sasuke. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a 'really I don't remember that happening' look. He then turned his head towards his pink-haired teammate, and his heart ached from what he sees. Sakura has her back turned from Naruto and everybody can clearly hear her sobbing. She was trying to hide herself from Naruto, hiding her weakness. Naruto slowly got up from the bed, and hesitantly walked up to Sakura.

He gently placed his hand on her shoulders. Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji watched in silence. " Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." Silence followed, no one said a word. Then suddenly, Sakura got up from her seat, turned, and squeezed Naruto into a hug. She placed her head on his shoulders, her arm went under his arm having her hands intertwine with each other a little below his back neck.

"Do not ever, I mean **ever**, scare me like that! I thought I lost you!" she screamed while tightening her grip on him. "Promise me, Naruto!"

"I promise, Sakura. Shh… it's okay, I'm here." He comforted her as much as he can. One of his was rubbing her back while the other was on the back of her head. He swayed her gently to calm her down for a few minutes when Sakura stopped crying. She slowly released him from her embraced and smiled at him.

"AWE! Isn't that cute!" Sakura twitched from hearing Ino squealing in the background.

"Way to kill the mood, Ino-pig!"

"Awe, Sakura-_chan_, I didn't know you have feelings for Naruto!" Ino teased. Sakura face flushed and she fell silent. Naruto then looked at Sakura with a confused look, 'She can't have feelings for me, can she?'

"Well I see your finally up." everybody turned to see Tsunade at the door. "I'm glad to see your alright Naruto." Naruto gave a smile in response. "I have bad news, it seems like those things inside the Hyuuga Mansion escaped."

The group of Genin were now in fear. 'How did this happen? What happens if everyone turns into one of those things? Will we survive this?' was all that was going through their minds.

Tsunade continued, "I want you all to meet up in the Hokage Tower. The rest will meet us over there. Naruto, your okay, right?"

"Of course I am baa-chan!" Tsunade gave him a death glare, but it soon turned into a smirk became evident on her face. 'Of course he is.' she thought.

"Alright, then get into your clothes. Once your done, everyone head towards the tower. Be careful." Tsunade then left the room, leaving the two team anxious.

"Well, I guess I should change so we could leave… Um… Do you guys know where my clothes are?" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head. Everyone left except Sakura.

She giggled at the way Naruto acted, "Shizune placed your clothing under the bed. Now hurry!" With that she slammed the door. Naruto winced at the loud slam the door made, then he quickly got dressed into his clothes. Once he's done, he headed to the door.

He walked out and saw Ino and Sakura waiting for him. "What happen to Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke?"

"They went ahead. They told us they will be meeting us at the Hokage Tower." Ino replied. "Well we should leave also." Naruto nodded in response. Naruto then looked at Sakura who gave him a warm smile. He couldn't help but plaster his famous grin at her. She playfully punched his shoulder and caught up to Ino. Naruto quickly ran up to the girls. When they all reached the front entrance, they heard screaming from the outside.

"What was that?" asked Naruto while trying to see what is outside.

"Be careful, Naruto-kun." Sakura pleaded. Naruto looked back and gave her a smile, then he walked up to the entrance way. He lowly opened the door slightly and peeked on what was going on outside. What he saw was… nothing. The outside was empty.

"Nothing seems to be out there. The streets are empty. I think… wait a minute." Naruto saw something moving at a corner of his eye. The figure soon moved into view, and what Naruto saw was a man. "It's a man. He seems scared."

"Then we should help him." Ino was about to walk out the door when Naruto put his arm out in front of her. Naruto saw something else moving.

"Something else is moving, and it's on a roof. I think the man is hiding from it."

"Do you think it is one of those things, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto didn't replied back to Sakura. He pulled out his kunai. "Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura walked up to Naruto and grabbed one of his arms. Naruto didn't keep his eyes of the monster on the roof. When he saw it moved in for the attack, Naruto burst open the entrance door and towards the creature. Before the creature reached its target, Naruto's kunai was thrown at its chest. It fell to the ground then quickly looked up at Naruto, who was charging at it with his **Rasengan**.

"**Rasengan**!" Naruto shoved his palm into the face of the infected, making a bone-crushing sound with blood emitting from the crushed face. The head was bent back into the ground. Sakura and Ino quickly ran up to Naruto and the man Naruto just saved. Naruto lend a hand to the man who was laying on the ground. "You alright?" asked Naruto.

The man quickly slapped Naruto's hand away. "Get away from me, you demon!" The man quickly backed away from Naruto on the ground. Naruto winced at the word the man just called him.

"Hey, a simple thank you would be nice. He just saved your life!" Ino yelled. The man, however, quickly got up and ran.

"Naruto-kun, why did he call you a demon? You didn't do anything to anyone, did you?" Sakura looked at Naruto with a confused look.

"Um…Don't worry about it… Just know I didn't do anything to anyone… Come on lets hurry. We don't want more of those things coming." Naruto began walking towards the Hokage Tower. Sakura and Ino looked at each other. Ino shrugged and began following Naruto. Sakura then followed closely behind.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji are running down an alleyway towards the Hokage Tower. The group has not been confronted with the infected yet, and they hope to keep it that way. Sasuke signaled Shikamaru and Chouji to stop since he heard screaming and roaring at the end of the alley.

"Do you guys hear that?" asked Sasuke while moving closer to see what is happening.

"I have a feeling its those things, should we head the other way?" Chouji was a bit nervous since he didn't want to come across one of the infected. He pulled out a bag of chips to try to calm down.

"It would be too troublesome to come across one of these things, but its also troublesome to go back and find another way to get to the Hokage Tower when its right around the corner from us. What do you think Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer right away for he was trying to think what is best for them to get to their destinations unharmed. "… hn, I think we should continue moving forward from here, but we should make a plan just incase we get caught by one of 'them'."

Shikamaru crouched down and created a rounded shape with his hands. His eyes were shut and sat there for half a minute. He shot his eyes open and began to talk. "I came up with over eighty possibilities of us attacking if spotted. But I think the best way is for me to use my **Kage Mane**. That way these things won't be able to move. One of you will attack when I release my jutsu. The other will keep a look out for anymore of those monsters."

Sasuke nodded in agreement and Chouji nodded also. "Alright lets head out." They began to head out when they felt someone, or something near them. They came to a halt. Silence came, nothing was heard. Sasuke activated his **Sharingan**, Shikamaru brought his hand up for his **Kage Mane no Jutsu**, and Chouji began to increase his hand size by using **Babun Baika no Jutsu**. Something quickly moved from the roof on the right. Then a loud screech was heard from behind, all three turned quickly to see the monster in the air aiming towards Chouji.

Chouji quickly swung his enlarged hand and swiped the infected towards a wall. Shikamaru quickly made the seal: _Rat_, and shadows below him quickly shot out towards the monster. "**Kage Mane**, success."

Sasuke walked up but left some distance between him and he infected. It roared and hissed continuously. "I'm going to release my shadow on him, so be ready." Sasuke nodded and brought his hands in front of his chest.

He then saw the shadow being released he quickly created hand seals: _Serpent, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger_. '**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**!' The ball of fire consumed the indisposed creature. They saw the creature running around like a madman, burning to death. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji backed away from the creature and started running towards the tower. 'That was easier than I thought it would be.' Shikamaru thought.

"Come on I see the tower, its… holy shit! Run!" Sasuke yelled at the top of his lungs. He saw five monsters on top of the roof tops close behind them. _Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Hare, Tiger_. '**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**!' Sasuke quickly turned around and blew out flower-shaped fires towards the hungry infected. He managed to hit three but the other two dodged his attack.

They finally reached the entrance door of the Hokage tower. Sasuke and Shikamaru entered the door but Chouji stood outside waiting for the two infected. The two monsters jumped Chouji at the same time. "**Babun Baika no Jutsu**!" Chouji's arm increased in size dramatically. He then spread his arm out like he was going to fly, but, as fast as he can, he clapped his hand together at the moment the two infected were in the spot where he wanted them to be. The moment his hands collided against each other, the sound of bones crushed and blood squirting were heard.

Sasuke looked in disgust at the sound and the picture of Chouji's attack. Shikamaru had his back turned not wanting to see the horrid scene behind him. But soon after Chouji's hand shrunk to normal size, they quickly went to the Hokage's office.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tsunade is in her office looking outside her window. She could see chaos near the Hyuuga Mansion towards the front gate. She knew this wasn't going well. The problem is spreading like wildfire and she has only one solution if this situation is not resolved.

"H-hokage-sama?" Hinata's small innocent voice was heard behind Tsunade. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Hinata. I'm fine, thank you." Tsunade turned and gave her a smile. She then looked at the group of students in front of her. There was Hinata, Tenten, Lee, Neji, Hanabi, Kiba, and Shino. Then the door flew open which caught everyone's attention. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji came in and scanned the room to see who was already here. Sasuke noticed Sakura, and Naruto hasn't arrived yet, which made him worry, wondering if they are okay. Shikamaru and Chouji were thinking on the same like with Ino.

"Nice of you to join us." Tsunade spoke. "Where are your teammates?"

"We decided to head out early, while Sakura and Ino waited for Naruto." Sasuke responded. "I know they will be here soon."

"I hope they are safe. There is a lot of chaos going on out there."

Sasuke walked towards the window Tsunade was looking out of. She looked at him and smiled. 'Who knew Sasuke would care so much for his teammates.' "You worried?"

"Hmm? Worried about what?" Sasuke said while still looking out the window.

"Are you worried about Naruto and Sakura?"

"Of course I am, why shouldn't I? They're like… like-"

"Family." Tsunade finished his sentence. He looked at her and nodded. "No offence, Sasuke, but I never knew you would be so close to them. I thought you only had one goal in life, and it's to kill 'him'.

Sasuke chuckled and placed his hand on the window. "I thought so, too… Naruto is my rival, and best friend. He always have my back, and he knows that I got his. He _is_ my brother." Sasuke traced back his memories of him and Naruto constantly having competitions on who is dominant. Whether it's who could get to the top of the tree faster on the Tree-Walking Exercise, or whoever can eat the most ramen, one of them must come out better than the other. Then his mind drifted to his other comrade.

He chuckled, "Sakura… She is like the sister who keeps us together. She could be annoying sometimes, like the time she was all over me." Sasuke could remembers clearly when Sakura tried to gain Sasuke attention, asking him out on dates, trying to impress him by becoming stronger. "But I'm glad she is finally gotten over me. She finally sees that we cannot be, but I could see she already has her eye on the right person for her."

Tsunade took her eyes off of Sasuke and looked out her window. She saw a boy and two girls running towards the building. She saw Ino running ahead of the rest. Sakura was pulling Naruto who is on the ground being dragged. "Yeah, she just needs to show Naruto how she feels."

"She will soon." Sasuke said as Ino, Sakura, and the dragged Naruto inside. A couple of seconds later, running footsteps were heard from hallway, coming towards the Hokage room.

The door swung open from Ino bursting in the room. Sakura rushed in from behind and dropped Naruto from her grip, which ended up having his face meeting the ground. Ino and Sakura were both bending over, hands on there bent knees, breathing heavily. Naruto was on the floor rolling around with his hand covering his face.

"Seems like everyone is here." Tsunade finally spoke. Everyone turned there heads towards her. "Some of you may know why you guys are here, and some don't. Ill make this quick… There was a problem in the Hyuuga Mansion today. There are these things, mutated-human-like creatures, an they were inside. Hinata Neji, and Hanabi survived, but for the rest… they weren't so lucky. Now these things are out in the village." Everyone's eyes widened, except for Team 7 and Team 10.

Shizune suddenly rushed in, "Tsunade-sama! Their here! Those creatures are here!"

"What! How the hell!? Where is-" Tsunade's roaring words were interrupted by a figure busting through the window behind Tsunade. The figure flew over Tsunade and onto the floor. "Kakashi! What the hell happened!"

Kakashi slowly struggled to get up. "We need to get out of here! We have to leave Konoha! The situation has become unstable!"

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you talking about?" asked Naruto. "We can't leave here!"

"Yes we can, and we need to do it now! These things also mutated into these things!" Tsunade gave him a quizzical look. "No time to ask questions, lets go, NOW!"

"Everybody follow mw, and stay close! Don't wonder off!" Tsunade and Kakashi jumped out through the window that Kakashi crashed through. Neji picked up Hanabi and followed behind. Hinata proceeded after him. The rest of the students in the room quickly ran out to followed.

They all ran on rooftops to the front gate. They heard people screaming, the monsters roaring. Then they saw things Kakashi was talking about. These monsters has half of its body large, and muscular. The other half was a regular human body. The thing was chasing down a child who was running for dear life. Naruto saw this and was about to run after the child but was stopped by Sakura.

"No, Naruto you heard what Sensei said. We have to keep moving" Naruto looked at her and then looked back at where the child ran off. He grunted and kept moving. Sakura looked at Naruto with a sad expression.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Yelled Kakashi.

"Where are the rest of the Sensei's Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.

"There at the front gate. They're waiting for us."

Tsunade nodded and followed Kakashi to the front gate. Everyone followed behind as quick as the can.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma are at the front gate. They were keeping the infected from getting out. An infected leaped towards Asuma, and Asuma quickly spun and sliced its stomach with one of his trench knives. The intestines and organs were spilled out onto the ground.

Kurenai used her Genjutsu against the monsters. They were running around, confused out of their minds. Some were running into walls, some were jumping around. While they were in their confused state, she took out her kunai and stabbed each one on the head.

Gai was killing the infected left and right. His power in Taijutsu were shown against his targets. His kicks to the face of the infected were brutal, messing it up even a surgeon can't fix. His punches were lightning fast and yet able to break bones anywhere it hits.

"YOSH! There they are!" yelled Gai with flames in his eye.

Kakashi and the rest followed while Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma are still holding the monsters back.

"Alright, lets go!" Asuma faced the large group of infected coming their way. _Hare, Serpent, Dragon, Rooster_. "**Fuuton: Kaikou Jinpuu no Jutsu**!" He blew a gust of wind out of his mouth, hurling his targets back. "Asuma quickly turned and ran out the gate. "Shut the gate!"

Gai and Kakashi at the same time shut the gate and Kurenai ran and placed a "lock" seal on it.

"Lets go, hurry!" Kakashi leaded the group of Shinobes and Kunoiches far away from the village. They all could still hear the screams from the innocent victims, and the roaring of the blood-thirsty infected.

Forty-five minutes later, they were a few miles away from their village. They all were tired from the running, all gasping for air. Kakashi looked at the group, knowing the cannot go any further. "We should rest here for the night."

"But, Kakashi-sensei. What if those… things got out… and find us here?" Sakura asked in between her breathing.

"Don't worry, the other Shinobes put up 'lock' seals on the other gates like we did."

Sakura sighed in relief. She then looked at Naruto who was on his back, legs and arms spread away from each other. She looked away from him to the rest of the group who were now preparing to rest. She walked up to Naruto and sat down. "Hey."

"Hi, Sakura-chan. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine I guess. Just a little frightened from what happened back there."

"Well, were safe now. I'll protect everyone if things get out of hand, I'll protect you." He smiled at her, looking straight at her emerald eyes. She stared back at his sapphire eyes.

"**Of course he will protect us, he always has and always will**." Inner-Sakura had a dreamy look on her face.

'And I will protect him, because I-"

"Sakura? You okay?" Naruto inches away from her face with a weird look on his face.

Sakura yelped in surprise and punched Naruto square in the face. He went flying and his back smashed into a tree. Sakura realized what she had done and ran towards Naruto. "Naruto, are you okay? I didn't mean to do it, you just surprised me and… and-"

"Sakura-chan, it's okay, really. I'm fine" Naruto chuckled. "This isn't the first time you hit me."

She thought back on how many times she hit him, but there were too many to count. "I'm sorry."

"Everything okay here?" Kakashi walked up towards his two students.

"Yeah, everything is fine, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said while standing up. He then held his hand out to help Sakura up.

"That's good. Tomorrow we are heading towards Suna. Since we have a good alliance with them, they would give us a helping hand."

"That's a good idea. Well then we should get some sleep." Sakura said.

"I'll keep a watch out. Good night." Kakashi jumped on a tree branch and pulled out an Icha-Icha book.

"Where you sleeping, Naruto-kun."

""Hmm… maybe here. It has a good soft grass that's comfortable to lay on."

"Well then, I'm sleeping here too." Sakura said while falling onto the soft, cool grass.

"W-what?" He received no answer. He then notice she already fell asleep. He didn't know what to do. So he just plopped down next to her, but kept a safe distance between him and her. He then looked up at the night sky. It was filled with millions of stars, sparkling at him. He closed his eyes and wished, 'I wish Sakura can see this with me.'

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Well thank you for reading and reviewing. I also want to thank you RSfan for giving me some ideas for my fic. Enjoy this new chapter and please review, I want to know what you readers think about my story. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Four: To Suna

"Naruto. Wake up, it's time to head out." Kakashi shook Naruto for some time now but he never seems to wake up.

"Kakashi-sensei, has Naruto-kun woken up yet?" Sakura walked from behind. She kneeled down next to Kakashi and placed her hands on the knees. She then leaned down next to Naruto's ear and said, "Naruto… Naruto-kun, wake up." She saw Naruto rolled around then slept on his back.

"Move back, Sakura." Kakashi motioned her away from Naruto and clenched his fist. He swung his fist towards Naruto's face. He hit right on Naruto's nose, which made him sit up quickly covering his nose with both of his hands.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Naruto whined while rubbing his nose with his crying-anime face.

"Sorry, Naruto. You wouldn't wake up, so I had to punch you." Kakashi removed Naruto's hands to check his nose. "It's fine, doesn't seem to be broken. Again, I'm sorry."

Naruto huffed but accepted his apology, "Don't worry about it, Kakashi-sensei. Just don't do it again."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and stood up to head towards the group of people getting ready to head out. Sakura was still kneeled down next Naruto. "Come on, Naruto. Everyone is waiting for us." She got up and offered her hand to help him up. He smiled and took her hand.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. How are you?"

"I'm better. What about you?"

"Well, if you minus the nose pain I got from Kakashi, then I'm good." Naruto chuckled. Sakura giggled at Naruto's answer. She then looked back at the group of people who are now just staring at the two.

"Well then, um… we should get going, their waiting for us." Sakura said quickly and grabbed Naruto's hand. He was yanked and pulled towards the group. She laughed nervously, "Sorry, but we're ready to head out." She then noticed everyone was looking at her and Naruto with a smirk on their faces. She looked confused and then noticed she was still holding Naruto's hand. Her face flushed and removed her hand quickly. She placed both hands behind her back and again laughed in embarrassment.

Hinata was behind her sensei, Kurenai. She looked with a worried expression shown on her face. 'Naruto-kun… and Sakura-san? No that can't be. She doesn't like him, but… I can be wrong. No, I have to be strong.' She glanced over at Naruto, who has his fox-grin and a shade of red on his cheeks. 'I… I have to tell him soon, before it's too late.'

"Alright everyone, we are all headed to Suna. The Kazekage hopefully will welcome us and allow us to stay there for awhile." Tsunade said.

While Tsunade was explaining on what they were going to do, Kiba glanced over to Hinata. He saw that she had a sad and worried look on her face. He silently walked to her, and nudged her shoulder. "Hey, you alright, Hinata?"

Hinata jumped in surprise. "Oh, hey Kiba-kun. Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I saw you over here looking all worried or sad. I was wondering if there is something on your mind."

"Oh, no Kiba-kun. I'm fine, don't worry about me." Hinata smiled at him, he could tell it was fake. Kiba faced Tsunade, but still staring at Hinata. He knew she was looking at someone. He lined her vision to the person she was looking at. He sighed quietly under his breath. 'It's always Naruto, huh Hinata. You have to see that he is not the one for you. Can't you see how much… I care about you? Can't you see?'

"Lets head out." Tsunade finally ended her speech and they all began to head out. Kakashi, Tsunade, and Gai were in front; Kurenai, and Asuma were behind; the Genins were between the Hokage and their senseis. Sasuke was walking behind Kakashi with his hands in his pockets. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji were walking together, just talking about what they expect in Suna. Shikamaru said some thing about "Troublesome women." Shino, Kiba, and Hinata were walking together… well Kiba and Shino were. Hinata was a little further away from her teammates. She was busy glancing at Naruto and Sakura. They were both laughing and talking to one another. This made Hinata fill herself with jealousy.

Hinata found the courage to walk up to Naruto, she put on a nervous smile while doing so. "H-hi N-Naruto-kun."

"Oh, hey Hinata! What's up?"

"I… umm just wanted to uh… t-talk." Hinata began doing her nervous act, caressing her index finger together.

"Hey, Hinata-san." Sakura said, feeling left out of their conversation.

"Oh, hi Sakura-san." Silence fell upon them as they continue to walk. Hinata was getting hot, for she was trying to get closer to Naruto. Sakura noticed in Hinata's action, and watched her closely.

'Oh, dear Kami… Don't, don't faint now.' Hinata was now close enough to be holding Naruto's hand. She slowly and hesitantly moved her left towards his right hand. She quickly intertwine her fingers to his and grasped his hands. 'Don't faint! Don't faint!'

Naruto eyes widened in surprise, and so did Sakura. Naruto turned his head to face Sakura, and gave her a confused look. She looked at him with a dumbfounded look. "**WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING HOLDING HANDS WITH OUR NARUTO-KUN**!" Inner-Sakura screamed with her powerful clenched fist in the air.

Naruto looked at Hinata once more, "Um… Hinata, w-what are you doing?"

Hinata's face was red as a tomato, and had her head bowed down when she answered, "H-holding your h-hand, is there something w-wrong?"

"I… uh no, no nothing is wrong…" Naruto looked ahead and saw Kiba looking at him. He knew Kiba has feelings for Hinata, and he still remembers that day that he told him.

(Flashback)

Naruto and Kiba were at Ichiraku eating ramen, and enjoying hanging out with each other.

"Man, that is some good ramen, eh Naruto?"

"Mmooh mmyeah!" Naruto was stuffing his face into the bowl, literally, and it made it hard for Kiba to understand the words Naruto was saying.

"What?" Kiba said while laughing a little at Naruto.

"Sorry, Kiba. But yeah, this place sells the best ramen ever, right old man?!"

"Right, Naruto!!!" was heard behind the kitchen. Kiba and Naruto laughed for a good while.

"So… Naruto?" Kiba looked at Naruto with a smirk. "Do you have a girl yet?"

Naruto almost choked on his ramen when he heard the question. "(cough, cough) Well um… no I don't. But the only girl for me is Sakura-chan!" Naruto finished his sentence with confidence.

"Man, you still going for her? You are like me." Kiba replied with a smile on his face.

"Really? Then who do you like?"

"… Hinata." Kiba's face flushed. He never told anyone he liked, but Naruto and him are good friends.

"Wow, Hinata, huh? Good for you, Kiba. She may be shy, but she is cute. Why don't you tell her that you like her?" Naruto gave him a thumbs up, including his grin.

"Well, you see… she already likes someone else."

Naruto's face saddened, he knew what that felt like with Sakura and Sasuke. "Who does she like?"

"I thought you would have known already, Naruto."

"Well, if I would have known would I be asking you?"

Kiba chuckled a little, "No, I guess not. She likes you… Naruto." Kiba stared at Naruto who just stared back. Naruto doesn't seem to believe it, but he knew Kiba was telling the truth. Naruto then looked down a his bowl of ramen.

"I'm sorry." Naruto's saddened face seemed to cast down even more. "I don't like her that way. I only like one girl, and I will win her heart one day. Hinata is a good friend and a good person." Naruto then looked at Kiba with a warm smile, "I know you will win her heart one day, Kiba."

Kiba smiled brightly at what Naruto said. "Thanks, Naruto. Well I have to go, I have to meet up with my team in ten minutes. Thanks again, Naruto." He got up and ran out of Ichiraku. Naruto's face was a cheerful one, he was proud of what he did for his friend. Then he realized something.

"OH DAMN IT, HE LEFT ME WITH THE BILL!"

(End Flashback.)

Naruto looked at Kiba with a sad look, and Kiba gave him a sad smile. Sakura was looking at Hinata with her death glare. She was furious and wanted to punch in the face, no matter how innocent she is.

"**Do something, shannaro**!" roared Inner-Sakura. With that, Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto's left hand with her right. She brought her body closer to him and bringing her left arm to embrace his arm. She then rested her head on his shoulder. Naruto looked at her and she looked at him with a smile. Naruto's face flushed for having two girls holding his hands. Hinata glared at Sakura and Sakura glared right back.

Everybody else felt an awful feeling in the air around them. Everyone turn to the source and saw Hinata and Sakura glaring at each other that is saying "I want to murder you".

Kurenai looked at Hinata, and she knew that Hinata wasn't the Hinata she knew before. 'What has gotten into her?'

"Isn't Hinata supposed to be sweet and all that? I never seen her like that in my life." Asuma whispered in Kurenai's ear. She nodded in response and kept on watching her student.

Lee was watching Sakura, and Sakura only. He was crying for he is losing at winning Sakura's heart. Neji and Tenten were looking at Hinata. Neji then glared at Naruto who was sweating and beat-red. Kiba was actually scared of Hinata for the first time in his life. She was giving Sakura an angry eye. Shino just kept on walking, not really caring about the situation. Same goes for Shikamaru, he thought it was too troublesome. Ino was smiling brightly at the scene, she thought it would be interesting to see who would win Naruto. Chouji shook his head and brought out his bag of chips. Sasuke was still walking forward, but he had a smirk on his face. He thought the situation Naruto is in is pretty hilarious.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Gaara was doing paperwork in the Kazekage room, he has gone through two piles so far. He has another three to go. Being Kazekage, for Gaara, was not easy. But being Kazekage was to be a leader, and protector of Suna. Gaara will do anything to protect his village.

"Gaara, we have a report that Leaf Shinobes are heading in our direction. The Hokage is with them." Kankuro ran in the room, which startled Gaara a little.

"Do you know who else is with Hokage-sama?" Gaara asked while putting down his pen.

"One of the Jounin was Hatake Kakashi. Including him, there are four Jounins altogether. Then there are Genins with them."

"I see, well they are our allies. We welcome them with open arms. I wonder why do they come in such a large number?"

"Maybe it had to do with the incident we heard about Konoha. We don't know what happened, but I bet it's something bad." Kankuro moved to one of the chairs to sit down. Gaara placed his chin on top of his hands.

"Whatever it is, we will help them. I'll greet them at the front entrance. How long do you estimate till they get here."

"About five hours. You got time to finish your paper work." Kankuro said with a smirk. In response, Gaara grunted in annoyance.

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"How can people from Suna live here! It's fucking hot out!" yelled Naruto. The group of people were walking across the desert to Suna. He was sweating like crazy, the heat was really intense. Sakura and Hinata, however, didn't care. They both were still holding Naruto's hand and they aren't going to let go anytime soon. The rest were in the same state as Naruto was. They were hot and sweaty.

"Watch your language, Naruto! We're almost there." yelled Tsunade.

"There it is." Kakashi told the group as he saw a huge mountain wall covering the village. They walked towards where the entrance would be. "Looks like the Kazekage knew we were coming, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded when she saw the Kazekage waiting for them at the entrance. When they got to the entrance they were greeted by the Kazekage and Sand Shinobes. Tsunade bowed, "Hello, Kazekage." Everybody else bowed except Naruto. Naruto, now free from Hinata's and Sakura's grasp, ran up to Gaara.

"G-Gaara?! You're the Kazekage?!" Naruto was looking at him, analyzing up and down his body. He looked different from when Naruto last saw him.

Gaara looked at Naruto with no emotions on his face. But that soon turn into a small happy smile. "It's nice to see you, Naruto." Gaara held up his hand towards Naruto.

Naruto didn't accept it right away. He still remembered the Gaara that killed, that craved for blood. He slowly raised his hand towards Gaara's. The two hands connected and gripped on tight. "Nice to see you, too… Gaara."

Gaara released his hand on Naruto and stared at the rest of the group. "You Shinobes are all welcome here. Please, tell me, why come in such a large group."

Kakashi bowed before he spoke, "We had a big problem in our village. We had to evacuate. We are the only ones that made out of the front gate of our village. We know there are some survivors, but we don't know where they are."

Gaara nodded, "We'll discuss this in at the tower. Temari, lead Naruto and the rest to our best Hotel here. Tell the owner I want them to stay for free. Hokage-sama, bring your Jounins and follow me."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Everyone said together.

Temari looked at the group before her, but one person caught her eye. Shikamaru looked at her with his hands in his pockets. She smiled and told everyone to follow her. Before she turned and walk towards the hotel, she winked at Shikamaru. His cheeks turn light red and he turned his head away from her.

"Alright, lets head out." Temari ordered. Naruto walked quickly up to Sasuke, he wanted to talk to his "brother" since he hasn't throughout their whole trip here. Sakura followed Naruto, for she doesn't want Naruto to be alone with Hinata if she approached him. Hinata was held back, however, by her teammate Kiba. He was talking to her, and she doesn't want to be rude. Chouji pulled out another bag of chips. Ino was next to him, looking at him eat, and Chouji noticed.

"You want some, Ino" Chouji asked while holding out the bag of chips towards her.

"No thank you, I don't see why you like them so much."

"Maybe you will once you try it." Chouji smiled and brought the chips closer to her.

"I… I don't think so, Chouji…"

"Come on, please." Chouji gave her a sad look. She looked at him and sighed. 'I can't resist that face.' She hesitantly brought her hand up. She reached in the bag and pulled out one medium-size chip. She took one bite from the chip, and Chouji just stared.

'Dear Kami, she is beautiful.'

"Wow, Chouji this is great!" squealed Ino at the top of her lungs. The reaction Ino gave Chouji brightened his day. "Can I please have more, Chouji!"

"Of course, Ino. Here." He, this time, gave her the whole bag. Ino gratefully took it and ate the chips. Chouji stared at her while he pulled out another bag of his favorite chips.

"Ino? Y-your eating chips? Chouji's chips?" Shikamaru asked in confusion. "I never see you eat one of Chouji's chips before."

"I know! They are delicious, I can see why Chouji can eat so much of these." Ino said and then took another bite of a chip. "You want some Shikamaru?"

"No thank you, I'm not that hungry." Shikamaru shook his head. Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru then continued following Temari to the hotel. They were behind Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Temari. Lee, Tenten, and Neji were behind Asuma's team, but ahead of Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

"Well here we are!" Temari yelled in front. Everyone examined the place they will be staying in, and it seems the young Shinobes were in an awe. The hotel is three stories high, and is long in length. It has a tan-like-color throughout, and the design can explain how much it is need to be spent to stay. They were lucky they are able to stay here for free. "Well what do you guys think."

Temari saw every single person has there mouth open, and eyes wide open. "This place looks… amazing!" shouted Sakura in excitement.

"This place is one of the most beautiful, peaceful, and fun hotels here in Suna. It is also the most expensive, so you guys are very lucky to stay here for free. Lets head inside." Temari start heading inside when she noticed was following her. She turn to face the group and saw them still looking at the hotel from the outside. "Are you guys coming in, or what?"

Everybody turn towards Temari and quickly jogged towards her. They got inside the main lobby, the group's reaction weren't any different than when they were outside. The lobby was designed and decorated beautifully. Even Sasuke was amazed by its beauty.

"I can not believe we are going to be staying here." said Lee in the background. He was looking at his surrounded so fast, he was literally spinning.

"Lee, stop spinning and behave!" demanded Tenten. Lee suddenly stopped what he was doing and bowed at Tenten.

"H-hai, Tenten-chan!!!!"

Temari went to the front desk and told one of the employees to get the manager. She already told everyone to take a seat on the couches and chairs on the left side of the lobby. Naruto relaxed on one of the couches, and Sakura quickly sat next to him. "Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Hey, can't you believe were living here for awhile. This place is beautiful!"

"Yeah it is, I wonder which room I would be sharing with." Naruto sat there while tapping his index finger on his chin while looking at the ceiling.

'It better be me… or else' Sakura said in her thoughts with Inner-Sakura in the background laughing evilly. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by Hinata walking up to Naruto.

"H-hi N-Naruto-kun."

"Hey, Hinata what's up?

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you a-a question…" 'Do not chicken out now…'

"Oh, ok. What is it you wanted to ask me?" Naruto said.

"Oh, um…" 'Ask

"Hey, everyone," Temari interrupted, " I have managed to get six rooms in the hotel. Which means there needs to be two people sharing each room. Decide quickly and I will lead you to your rooms."

Everyone suddenly quickly gathered and discussed. Shikamaru started, "Alright everyone. Who do you want to be paired with?"

"Naruto-kun!" Everyone turned their heads towards Sakura. She then found out how loud she screamed Naruto's name. "Um (cough), I mean I want to stay with Naruto."

"Really?! Sweet!!!" Naruto danced around happily. Hinata hung her head low in shame.

"Alright then, Naruto and Sakura. Now we have five more to go." Shikamaru said. Then Kiba spoke, "Well, I can stay with Hinata… If she wants, of course." Hinata looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah um… that would be fine."

'YES!' Kiba screamed in his mind, 'Finally, I have a chance with Hinata!'

"Well, I can stay with Shino. I would like some peace and quiet in my room. It would be too troublesome with a loud roommate." Shikamaru looked at Shino. He was just standing there all quiet.

"Hmm, I think I would like to stay with Chouji, I would love to have some more of those chips." Ino said while giving Chouji a smirk. Chouji just laughed nervously with a blush.

"Neji, would you like to share a room?" Lee said while giving him a Gai pose.

Neji just looked at him with a dull face. "No thank you Lee."

"Well, I guess I could share a room with Lee…"

"Really Tenten-chan! Yosh!"

Shikamaru looked at Neji and Sasuke, 'Hmm, a Hyuuga and an Uchiha. This could be interesting.' "Alright, that leaves you two to share a room."

Sasuke just "Hn…" He didn't really care about sharing a room. Neji just gave him a glare.

"Temari, we have decided, now can you lead us to our room."

"Of course Shika-kun" Temari said with a flirty accent.

Shikamaru just looked at her with a confused look, "Please don't call me that." 'Man, what's with her?" She just ignored what he said and lead the group to their rooms. Their rooms were located on the second level, and they were right next to each other.

"Hurry up Naruto-kun!" Sakura yelled while pulling the collar of his jumpsuit to their room.

"Sakura-chan! Slow down!"

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"This news isn't good at all." Gaara was sitting at his desk with Tsunade sitting across from him. The Jounins were standing behind Tsunade. "And you don't know why these people are in the state that they are now?"

"Yes, we just got the news from Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata that something happened at their mansion. When I sent two teams inside for a Search-and-Rescue mission, the were only managed to get two people out." Tsunade said. "Naruto was on that mission, and he was bitten by those things." Gaara's eyes widened when he heard what happen to Naruto. "But Kyuubi seems to be keeping him from changing to one of those things. All we did was heal his bite wound and then he was good to go."

"… Do you think he can still be carrying anything? Like the virus?" Gaara said suspiciously. Tsunade sat there looking at him, wondering if that could be true. "I mean it could be possible. The Kyuubi may be keeping him from changing, but what does he do to the things that make people turn into one of them?" The Jounins were thinking at what Gaara said. Kakashi was worried as hell if Naruto did still carry the infection.

"That… could be true…" Tsunade answered while hesitating a little.

"Well, how about we pick up this conversation tomorrow or so. You guys must be tired. I'll walk you to the Hotel."

Tsunade got up from he chair. She and the Jounins bowed respectfully to the Kazekage.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Everyone were now down at the Cafeteria eating their dinner. All of them sat down in groups of threes, and they were with their teammates. The food was delicious, and Naruto thanked Kami for the hotel serving all you can eat ramen. Surprisingly Sakura also ordered ramen, whenever she saw the ramen bowl that Naruto ordered, she craved for it. Sasuke only drank some tea and ate dangos. Hinata, however didn't eat. She stared at Naruto from the time they arrived in the Cafeteria. Kiba was trying to be close to her as possible. Shino, well… he was just eating his meal quietly. Ino was sitting next to Chouji, sharing a bag of chips with him. She doesn't know why she has this warm, happy feeling when she is near him, but she love being around him. Shikamaru was sitting and having conversations with his teammates. Lee, Tenten, and Neji were eating their dinner. Most of the time Tenten and Neji listened to Lee talking about "Youth".

"My goodness, Naruto. You already ate six bowls when I'm still on my first one!" Sakura looked at him in amazement, and curiosity. She wondered how can he eat so much of Ramen.

"Ahhh, well I think I'm done for the night." Naruto said while putting down his bowl. He got up and stretched.

"Where you going?" asked Sasuke. Naruto looked at him.

"Oh, I think I want to just head outside. Through that door." He pointed across the room. There was a door that lead to the outside. "I'll just be out there." Sasuke nodded, and Naruto began to walk. Sakura was about to join him, since she thought he wanted company. But another side of her thought he wanted to be alone, so she stayed.

Naruto swayed his way through the tables that were in his way to the door. Hinata saw him pass her and headed outside. She looked at Kiba. He was busy talking to Shino, which made this the perfect opportunity for her to get to Naruto. She waited till he got outside, then she quietly got up from her seat and followed Naruto. When she got outside, she saw him having his hands behind his back while looking up into the sky.

'He looks so peaceful…' Hinata thought, she then walked up to him. "H-hi, Naruto-kun." Naruto's head spun towards Hinata quickly, he thought he was outside alone.

"Hey, Hinata. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, umm… I saw you out here alone, s-so I thought you wanted some, umm… company."

"Ah, well yeah I would love some company." She motioned her to come stand beside him, and she looked at him with her flushed face. She slowly walked next to him with her head down.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you think, Hinata?" She looked at him, then to the sky. She saw the stars, twinkling brightly down at the two. She opened her mouth in awe. "Yes, it is beautiful…"

'You have to tell him before it is too late.' "N-Naruto-kun… I have something to tell you." Naruto looked at her with a smile on his face, yet his face shown that he was curious on what she wanted to ask.

"What is it ?" Naruto had all his attention on her, and she knew it. She began to become nervous, more than ever before.

"I… wanted… to say that…" Naruto didn't wanted to be rude, but he was becoming impatient.

"Yeeesss?" she asked slowly.

"You… are important to me… You always give me… the confidence I needed." Her confession began to ease up on her, "You always make me smile whenever I see you. I feel… this warm feeling inside me whenever I'm around you, you make me happy. Whenever I feel hopeless, or in bad situations, I always think about you. You gave me the strength to never give up… to never lose hope. What I'm trying to say is that… I… love you." The last sentence Hinata said was hard for her to say. She never would of thought of confessing her love to Naruto.

Naruto looked at her with a surprised look on his face. What she said was unexpected. "Thank you, Hinata. That was kind of you to say. But…" Her heart stopped beating for a second when she heard him say 'but'. "I… don't like… you in that… way." He felt sad saying this to her, since she just said that she loved him. "I mean, I love you as a really good friend, Hinata. I just don't feel that way about you."

"… I" she whispered, but loud enough for him to hear. "I understand, but…" she leaned towards him, "Can I just have… one kiss?" she didn't know why she had the confidence to ask him, while also having her face not flushed. He looked at her and answered.

"… Okay, just one…" He leaned forward, and pressed his lips on hers. Her lips were smooth and moist, he had to admit, it felt so nice. He opened his mouth for a breath of air, but was surprised when he felt Hinata's wet , and warm tongue slipped inside his mouth. Her tongue shifted around his mouth, while he moved his tongue against hers. She loved how he tasted, how he kissed her.

She suddenly felt her mouth started to heat up. Something didn't feel right to her. It began to become harder to breathe, her stomach started to hurt like hell. She suddenly pushed him away and she fell to the ground. She began to cough loudly, which people inside were able to hear. Blood began to come out of her mouth every time she coughed. She hugged her stomach tightly, the pain was unbearable. She then puked out a huge amount of blood. Naruto was scared, he didn't know what happened just now, "Hinata! Are you alright?! What's going on?!"

Everybody inside heard Naruto yelling, and all of them stood up at their tables. "What's going on out there?" asked Ino. No one replied but stared at the door Naruto went out. Kiba then looked at the seat next to him. He noticed Hinata wasn't there.

Hinata's teeth began to form into fangs, her fingernails became sharp, and her **Bakyugan **was activated. She began to hiss and growl, which made Naruto stiff. Then Naruto saw Hinata get up on her feet and glared at him with a killing intent. He then knew… she was infected.

(A/N: I have a feeling people are going to hate me for this.)

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for people who read and reviewed. But I especially want to thank the people who did and took their time to review my fic. I love to read your reviews about my story. I don't care if it is good or bad. Enjoy this new chapter and please review.

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Chapter Five: Infected Demon

"H-Hinata…" Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. She is infected, and he knew it was all his fault. Blood dripped down the corner of her mouth. She has her eyes on Naruto, for that it was her target. Naruto stood there, doing nothing but stare at her. One tear rolled out of his left eye, down his left cheek. He decided to take one step forward.

He slowly lifted his right foot to take a step forward. Hinata reacted quickly and pounced at Naruto, pushing her and Naruto at the door. The door broke open and they landed on one of the cafeteria table. Hinata suddenly grabbed Naruto's collar and threw him a against the wall. When Naruto collided against the wall, it created a dent along with cracks. He slid down the wall and laid down onto the ground in pain.

"Naruto!!!" yelled Sakura. She was surprised from what Hinata just did. This just didn't surprise Sakura, but to others in the Cafeteria. Hinata leaped towards Naruto, begging for a bite of his flesh. Naruto saw her coming towards him, and everything became slow. He suddenly shut his eyes and waited… but nothing happened. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the growling Hinata a foot away from his face.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tsunade's voice was heard from the Cafeteria entrance. Naruto looked at Hinata, still in disbelief from what he had done. He then saw sand covering Hinata, preventing her from reaching him. Kurenai ran up to Hinata and asked, "What has gotten into you, Hina-" Before she could have finish saying her name, Hinata hissed and growled at her. Kurenai backed away in surprise and horror. "No…" Kurenai whispered.

"What is it, Kurenai?" asked Asuma walking up to her.

"She's one… of them." Asuma's eyes increased in size. He looked over at Hinata and saw her trying her hardest to get out of the sand that was covering her. Naruto crawled away from Hinata, but did not take his eyes off of her. 'What have I done?' he asked himself while tears came out of his eyes. Sakura walked up to him to see if he was okay.

"Naruto-kun, what happened? Are you alright?" Sakura looked at him, he didn't reply. Sakura looked back to see Sasuke, who was walking towards them. Gaara was concentrating on Hinata, making sure she doesn't get away. Kakashi and Tsunade rushed up to see Naruto. Sakura cupped his cheek with her hand. He suddenly twitched and moved away from Sakura.

'I'm endangering others around me… even Sakura.' Naruto backed away further when Sakura tried moving closer.

"Naruto, you alright? What happened?"" Tsunade kneeled beside him. He tried moving away but Tsunade grabbed his arm. "Naruto, tell me already damn it!"

"Hokage-sama, lets leave him in his room for awhile. I think he has been through enough from whatever happened here." Kakashi said. Tsunade nodded and lifted Naruto off the ground. "Everyone, stay away from Hinata." Kakashi announced.

Kiba looked confused and said, "Why, what happened to her?"

Kakashi looked at him with a sad face, "She's one of them, Kiba." suddenly he saw Kiba running towards Naruto and Tsunade. Kiba grabbed Naruto by his Jumpsuit, and threw him against a wall. He ran up and lifted him up by the collar.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HINATA!?" Naruto still has fear with guilt still on his face, he just looked at Kiba and did not answer. Kiba then slammed Naruto onto the ground. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"Kiba that's enough!" yelled Kurenai. Kiba released his grip on Naruto from her voice. Tsunade looked at Naruto with a sad expression. She then picked him up from the ground yet again and continued to his room. Kiba was kneeling on the ground, crying from what happened to Hinata. He can not believe she is one of them now. He knew he will never see her again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto was walking along side Tsunade to his room. She has one hand on his shoulder while the other went across his back to his other shoulder. They were slowly approaching his room when she asked, "Do you have the key?" He didn't say his answer, but he pulled out the key from his pocket. "Good…"

They were now in front of his room and Naruto placed the key in the keyhole. He turned the key to unlock the door and slowly pushed it opened. He entered and sat down on a couch that was inside. Tsunade knew he was terrified. She knew he was part of what had happened to Hinata. "Get some rest, Naruto. I'll see you in the morning." She then closed the door and walked back to the Cafeteria.

'I'm putting everyone in danger around me… they're not safe." Naruto sat there holding back tears. "Hinata…" he whispered and couldn't hold back anymore. He cried, cried like there was no tomorrow. It took him awhile to gain control of himself. He got up and moved towards a table. He grabbed pen and a piece of notepad paper. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks, and he began to write.

He set the pen down when he was done writing and wiped the tears that remained on his face. He left the letter on the table and grabbed scrolls that he had. He gathered the things he needed and put it in the scrolls. 'I must save the ones I love… by leaving them.' '**Hey, kit**.'

'What is it fox…'

'**I'm sorry**…' was all Kyuubi could say. After that Kyuubi left Naruto's mind. Naruto moved towards the window in his room. He opened it, but did not jump out. He closed his eyes, remembering everybody, every moment, remembering Sakura. He smiled when her face was shown in his head. He would never forget her. He took in a deep breath, and released it out slowly. He finally jumped out into the night, unseen.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"What should we do with her?" asked Gaara looking at Hinata. She seemed to calm down a bit, but she was not trusted. Kakashi announced what has become with Hinata, and all did not take the news lightly, especially Neji. He wanted to find Naruto and ask him what happened.

"Tsunade walked back in the Cafeteria and answered Gaara, "I'll study her with Sakura. I believe we can find the cure from her, I don't know how long it will take, but we will find it." She looked at Sakura who gave a confident nod. "It seems like Naruto carries the 'virus', as we call it." Tsunade began announcing. Sakura suddenly as all her attention on Tsunade. "He must of done something to Hinata to make her like this. But, please do not blame Naruto. He didn't even know he carries the infection. He feels bad already, and I know he doesn't want more of his friends to bring him down."

"Why isn't Naruto one of them then! He has the so-called-virus! So why!?" yelled Kiba. Sakura stared at her teacher, wondering the same thing. Tsunade was afraid of this.

"I… (sigh). Have you guys ever hear… people calling Naruto a demon, treating him badly?" Everybody's eyes shot open because they remembered how people treated him. Sakura then remembered what the man he saved by the hospital the other day. His words kept repeating in her head, '_Get away from me, you demon!_'

Tsunade started again, but couldn't find the words to speak the truth about Naruto, " He… I… can't do this. It's not right without Naruto saying it is." Everyone's faces fell in disappointment. They wanted to know why was Naruto treated this way, and why isn't he one of them.

'Naruto-kun… I swear to you, I will find a cure for the virus. To cure you I promise.' Sakura thought. She will find the cure, not just for Hinata, or the people who are infected… but for Naruto.

"Tsunade, may I go see him?" Sakura said. 'Please say yes.'

"Go ahead, Sakura. Though, he may be sleeping." Tsunade answered. Sakura bowed to her and moved on towards her room which she shared with Naruto. 'I guess he needs you now more than ever, Sakura.' Tsunade though while putting a smile on her face.

"Now everyone, I want you to go back to your rooms. We will deal with Hinata." said Asuma. And motioned everybody out of the Cafeteria. Everybody complied and exited. They waited another minute to go by and Tsunade spoke.

"Gaara, do you have a place where we could study this virus, and where Hinata can be near us?"

"Yes, I do Tsunade-sama. I will lead you there whenever your ready." Gaara said while glancing over to Tsunade. She nodded and looked at Hinata. She has a raspy breathing that was disturbing to all ears. She turned towards the exit and said, "Lets go." Gaara followed while having Hinata in control. Hinata was being dragged while inside the sand coffin.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura saw the room her and Naruto were sharing getting closer. She was almost there to see Naruto. 'Naruto-kun must be feeling bad for whatever he did to Hinata. I must somehow find a way to cheer him up.' Sakura thought while now standing in front of their her hotel room. She unlocked the door with her key and walked inside. "Naruto?" she whispered. She saw the living room was empty.

She stared at it for a second longer. For some reason, she had a feeling something happened, and it wasn't good. 'He must be in the bedroom sleeping… yeah that's right.' She quickly but quietly moved to the bedroom. It was dark inside the bedroom, she couldn't see if he was inside or not. She switched the lights on, and she began to worry. The beds were completely untouched. '…Bathroom!'

She walk up to the bathroom door, which was closed. She began to knock a couple of times, "Naruto-kun? Naruto, you in there?" No answer. She open the door and saw the room was dark and empty. No one was inside. Her heart began to beat faster, she was fearing for the worse, 'No… no he couldn't, he wouldn't.' She went to check on things around the room. She opened the closet that was in the bedroom. She found the extra pillowcase and blanket was gone. She quickly went into the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator. She saw some of the food that were supposed to be there, along with drinks, were gone. "No…" she said silently.

She went passed a table and noticed a single notepad was written in small handwriting placed right by a pen and blank notepad papers. She slowly walked up to the piece of notepad and picked it up with her fingers. It read:

Dear Sakura,

I'm writing this to you because I know you will be the first to find and read this. All I have to say is that I'm running away. I can't stay here, it will be too dangerous if I did. I'm afraid that I will turn my friends into one of them, like Hinata… especially you. (Sakura begins to allow her tears to fall.) I don't want to leave you and the rest, but I know it's for you guys to be safe. Please understand Sakura-chan, for I (It ended there and Sakura flipped the note to the back.) don't want you to be angry with me. I can not live knowing you are angry for my decision. I will miss you, and the rest… so very much. The only thing I regret from leaving you guys is telling you how I feel Sakura. (Her heart skipped a beat. 'How he feels… for me?') Well, I hope I will be able to see guys in the future.

Forever Your Friend,

Uzumaki Naruto

She couldn't help herself, she was crying. Crying until there were no more tears. She fell on her knees and clenched her fist right next to where her heart is. She couldn't believe it, he was gone; out of her life. She wonders if she will ever see him again. She knows she wouldn't be able to see him, to see his grin, to smell his scent, to feel the good feeling whenever she is around him. She just couldn't live without him.

"NARUTO!!!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. The group were in the hallway when they heard Sakura. Sasuke and Ino quickly reacted and ran toward Sakura's room. The Jounins, who were now walking out of the Cafeteria, heard the scream. Kakashi recognized the voice of the screamer and ran towards where the scream came from.

Tsunade and Gaara were exiting the hotel when Sakura's loud scream was heard. Tsunade stopped in her tracks and then her eyes widened, 'Oh fuck, Sakura…' "Gaara, stay here. Just keep an eye in her."

"Hai." answered Gaara, and Tsunade quickly turn around and headed towards Naruto's room.

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After the nonstop running through the desert, Naruto finally collapses near the forest. He was tired, gasping for much air as he can. He looked back where Suna is located. He was going to miss them all. But he knew why he had to leave. But the thing that was still on his mind was Hinata.

'**Kit, you know it wasn't your fault for what you did to that girl.**'

'Oh, really? Then whose fucking fault is it?'

'**Well it's not yours, you didn't know you carry this… I don't know, virus you may say. I didn't even know.**' Naruto knew Kyuubi was right, he didn't know.

'But if I hadn't kissed her, she would be-' before he finished, Kyuubi cut him off.

'**Your pissing me off kit. Stop it, okay. I know you feel bad, but you can't change what happened. You just move on.**' Naruto didn't reply back, he just laid on the ground, catching his breath.

Soon enough, Kyuubi broke the silence, '**You know kit… I could train you, if you want. Train you into the strongest.**'

'Wow, didn't know you could be so kind.' Naruto said sarcastically.

'**Shut up! Since your on your own now, I just thought you need training. And why not train with the strongest, the most feared being in the Shinobi worl**d**?!**' Kyuubi laughed menacingly.

'Okay, okay, I accept. What kind of training are we going to do?' Naruto asked while getting up from the ground. He wiped the sweat that were falling down his forehead.

'**Well lets see,**' Kyuubi thought of many things that would be hard for Naruto to learn, for anyone to learn actually. '**You will learn how to use all five elements: Katon, Fuuton, Suiton, Raiton, Doton.**'

'What! Isn't that impossible! I heard Shinobis only have two elements they can use. I can't use all five!' Naruto was confused, but also excited. Confused of the fact if it was possible to use five elements, how the hell do you learn them? Excited because of the fact he is to know how to use all five elements.

'**In time, kit. I will also make you sign a Summoning Scroll, which you will be able to summon… foxes.**' Naruto's eyes widened in excitement. He couldn't believe it, he will be able to summon foxes for aid.

'Are you serious fox? I will be able to summon foxes?!'

'**Not only that, you will be able to summon me.**' Naruto went silent, he wasn't sure about the idea of summoning him into the world. '**Kit, don't worry, I won't be able to attack and destroy anything. Even if I want to. Understand that once you sign that contract, and you summon me, I only obey to your commands. I would never disobey you, no way, no how.**'

'Alright fox, you better not be lying to me.'

'**Good, now lets get going. I will explain everything you will be learning along the way.'**

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"He…he (sniff) is gone…" Sakura said to Ino. She was still on her knees with Ino at her side hugging her. Sasuke was standing against a wall in disbelief. He was gone, his best friend is gone. Ino looked at Sakura, then to Sasuke. Her eyes began to water up because she knew Naruto meant everything to them. "I can't believe he is (hiccup) gone…"

"Shh, it's okay Sakura. It's going to be okay." Ino tried to comfort her, but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. The rest of the group in the halls finally arrived at Naruto's room. They saw Sasuke on the wall with a sad and disbelief look on his face. Then they saw Sakura on the ground, moaning and sobbing while Ino is hugging her.

"Where's Naruto?" Kiba said, which made Sakura cry harder. Everybody began to worry. Kiba was getting even more curious of what happened to Naruto. "What happened?"

Sakura stood up quickly and began to yell, "HE'S GONE OKAY! HE RAN AWAY! HE RAN BECAUSE HE FELT GUILTY, AND AFRAID!"

Everyone took a step from Sakura's outburst. They were also surprised of what had came out of her mouth. Can he actually be gone?

Kakashi came running in to see his two students in state of sadness and shock. He saw Sakura was being taking care of by Ino, so he went to Sasuke. "Sasuke… what happened?"

Sasuke, who was looking at the ground, slowly brought his head up to look at Kakashi. He had his mouth open, for he tried to answer his sensei, but his words never escaped his mouth. "Sasuke, answer me." Kakashi looked around and didn't see Naruto anywhere. "Where is Naruto?"

"He… he… is gone." a single tear fell down his cheeks. He couldn't hold back the emotion he held. "Why, Naruto?…" Sasuke murmured under his breath. Tsunade then appeared at the doorway. She saw Sakura on the ground and went to her. Before she knelt down in front of her, she noticed a written small paper laying beside her. Tsunade picked the paper up and began to read. She closed her eyes shut and tears caressed down her cheeks. She quickly wiped the tears from her face, placed the note in her pocket, and went to the door.

"Everyone return to your room. I'll tell you what happened to Naruto in the morning… Get… some rest. Kakashi, take care of Sasuke and Sakura." with that she left the room to meet up with Gaara. Everybody, except for what is left of Team 7, slowly went to their rooms. The four Jounins arrived to where Kakashi and his two students were and looked confused. Kakashi looked at them and said, "I'll explain later, meet me in the lobby." All of them complied and left.

"Sakura, Sasuke. I'm sorry… You two should get some sleep." Sakura struggled to get up, she felt so weak, but she was able to stand and move into the bedroom. Sasuke just went to the couch in the living room and tried to go to sleep. Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed. 'Naruto, be safe out there…'

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Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma were waiting for Kakashi to arrive. They were in the main lobby seated on the hotels comfortable seats. They were all suspicious of what they saw in the room. Sakura crying, Sasuke obviously upset against a wall, Naruto not being in the room. Something was up.

"Do you guys think it has to do with Naruto? I mean, he wasn't in the room. Maybe he ran away." said Asuma. Kurenai and Gai looked at his with an assuring expression.

Gai shut his eyes and replied, "That would be a logical answer. I -" He was cut off when Kakashi appeared in the lobby. The Jounins glared at him while he sat down on an empty chair. Gai broke the silence, "So, Kakashi. What happened?"

Kakashi sighed before he began to talk, "It seems like my student, Naruto, has ran away. I don't know why but I thought up with some possibilities."

"Such as?" Kurenai questioned. Kakashi massaged his forehead in frustration.

"… One could be that he was guilty from what had happen to Hinata. I could only imagine how he must be feeling right now." Kurenai's face saddened from hearing her students name. "Secondly, he possibly left for everyone's safety. Knowing Naruto, he probably wanted to protect everyone by running away." everybody thought Kakashi's analysis on why Naruto left were simple reasons but they made sense.

"Poor boy, we have to go find him. Like shit, he's only thirteen." Asuma said standing up.

"…No, leave him be. Naruto is strong, I know he will survive out there. Let us just be glad those infected are stuck in Konoha, and Hinata is with us. Naruto must know how to survive without spreading the virus." Kakashi said while looking at Asuma. Asuma then slowly sat back down.

"I think we should rent a room for the night. Kakashi, you don't mind sharing a room with Gai, right?" Kurenai asked. Kakashi looked at Gai and Gai stared right back. Kakashi sighed and replied, "I guess…"

Kurenai and Asuma walked up to the front desk to rent the two rooms. Gai placed his hands on Kakashi's shoulder, "I'm sorry Kakashi. Your student has the power of youth in him, I can see it. He will be fine."

Kakashi chuckled, "I know…" hen he saw Kurenai and Asuma walking towards them with the keys to their room.

"Here are your keys, the room number is on it. Have a good night. And Kakashi… I'm sorry." Kurenai said.

"Me too." Kakashi replied, and Kurenai knew he meant Hinata. Her face saddened while walking to her room with Asuma.

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Tsunade was now walking in an underground area next to the Kazekage tower. She had told Gaara what had happened back at the hotel. He was angry, yet he understood why Naruto left. He just hope Naruto will be fine, he knew he was strong. After all, he did beat him when the Sand and Sound attacked Konoha.

"Here we are, Hokage-sama. I hope this place has all the stuff you need. I will place Hinata in room, which will be barred. She won't be able to get out."

Tsunade analyzed the room she will be working in for awhile with Sakura. She is confident she will find the cure, she has to. For Hinata's and Naruto's sake. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama. This place is perfect. And you are sure that the bar will keep her inside?"

"Yes, I am sure of it. If you have no other questions, I will take my leave." Tsunade shook her head no,. Gaara bowed and left the room. 'Naruto, I hope you will stay safe out there. I hope we will meet each other soon.'

(A/N: Time skip next chapter. And I apologize for the chapter being shorter. I will try to make the next chapter longer.)

To Be Continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, here is another chapter. I've noticed that I have not been getting a lot of reviews for my last chapter . Is it that bad? Just messing, but seriously your reviews are the things that give me encouragement to write, so please readers and writers, do review. I would really appreciate it. In other news, I would like you readers and writers to go to my profile and vote on which new fic I should do in the near future. It is a poll on my profile so please vote. AND DID YOU GUYS F****** READ THE NARUTO MANGA 457 & 458!!!!!!!! I'm sorry for those who are NaruHina fans, but NaruSaku is near^^. And I have to say, even though it sounds gay, but I love you Sai. If you guys read the manga, you will know why. Anyways, thank you and enjoy the chapter. **

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Chapter 6: Saved and Reunited

Four years… four years have past since the incident. The incident referring to what had happened in the Hyuuga Mansion, what had happened to Konoha, and what had happened Hinata plus Naruto. Ever since then, nothing ever seemed better. The infection has been reported throughout the nation, and they are not just in villages. They somehow are out and about everywhere. The only place that is safe from the infection is a place called Sunagakure.

Suna is well protected from the flesh-hungry-beings. They have guards around the mountain border watching if there is any horde of monsters coming their way. Whenever they see a group coming their way, they usually warn their Kazekage, Gaara. He usually is the one to get rid of the infected in a matter of seconds with his sand. Sunagakure have used this defense system since the first group of infected ran towards them, which was a year after Naruto left. The village is safe, and well protected.

In the village, there was a certain young Kunoichi walking towards her apartment that she is now living in. This pink-haired-seventeen-year-old girl have been living there for three years. The room she has wasn't the biggest, but it was decent enough to live in. She wouldn't want to move anywhere else. Why you ask? Because all her friends live in that same apartment (A/N: Go figure.). She doesn't want to be away from her friends, they were the only people that were able to make her happy, and get through her day. She needed it, ever since Naruto left.

She never forgot him. She remembered his smell, his voice, and especially his grin. She, however, missed him dearly. She cried almost every night, wishing that she could see him again. She wanted to see him. His grin that he had given her everyday, the scent of ramen that traveled with him, and the comfort he had given her anytime she is near him.

Sakura began walking up the steps to her room in the apartment. Before she took another step, she heard a voice calling her, "Sakura!" Sakura turned around to find her friend running towards her.

"Oh, hey Ino! What's up?" Sakura asked while taking a few steps down the stairs.

"Nothing much, I just saw you and decided to join… whatever your doing" Ino giggled.

Sakura giggled right back, "Well, I'm not doing anything. As you may see, I'm just going to my room to relax. I just got back from Tsunade, she trained me today and we both worked on the cure for the infection."

"How is that going? Any luck?" Ino asked. She then saw Sakura's face sadden a little.

"We're not getting anywhere we are now. The last vile we gave Hinata calmed her down. She wasn't as jumpy or aware as before. But if she sees human flesh or anything that she is able to eat, she will get it."

"I see. Well I know you and Tsunade-sama will find the cure sooner or later." Ino smiled at Sakura, while she smiled right back.

"Want to come and stay in my room for awhile. We could talk and stuff." asked Sakura.

Ino sighed while smirking, "Well, I guess. I have nothing better to do. Lead the way, Billboard-Brow."

"Shut it, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled while stomping up the stairs. She knew Ino was playing around, but this is how their friendship is. Sakura walked up to her door while Ino followed from behind. She placed the key in the keyhole and opened the door. They both walked inside and Sakura lead Ino to her room.

"You wait here, I just need to go fresh'n up." Sakura then walked towards the bathroom, leaving Ino in her room, waiting. Ino didn't like just sitting there, and decided to look around to see if there is anything interesting she could find. She saw the room was nice and clean. She then saw a book on Sakura's desk in the corner of the room. She walked up and read the cover.

'Diary? This should be good' Ino opened the diary and skimmed through the pages. She began to grow sad, for all the pages in Sakura's diary was about Naruto. Every single page ended with "I wish he was back." Ino could also see there were some darkened spots on the pages. She knew she had been crying. 'She really misses him…' She closed the book and placed it on the desk where it belonged. Sakura then walked back into her room.

"So, Ino what do you want to do?"

"Oh, you know… just talk." Ino put a fake smile on her face. She was sad that she found out that her friend is crying everyday.

"Umm… okay? How are you and Chouji?" Sakura asked with smile. Ino couldn't get over the fact that she knew Sakura was hurting inside.

"What do you mean how are me and Chouji? You know we aren't dating." Ino said without any emotion put into her answer. Sakura got confused in the way Ino answered her question.

"Come on, for couple years now I see you two almost everywhere. You guys eat together, like shit you guys live in the same apartment room."

"We're just good friends…" Ino answered while getting up and went to a window to look outside. Sakura was surprised by her action, and began to worry.

Sakura got up and was now behind Ino, "Is there something wrong, Ino? You know, I didn't mean to push your button about Chouji." Sakura then heard Ino sighed.

"It's not that… Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura tilted her head in confusion, "Why didn't I tell you what?" Ino turned around and Sakura saw that she had a sad look on her face.

"That you were hurting… That-that you were crying every night, crying because you want Naruto back." Ino didn't yell, but said it in an almost whispering way. Sakura face shown that she was surprised, but then quickly turned into a sad one.

'How did she know…' Sakura didn't answer for a couple of seconds, but to them it seems like a hour. "… How did you know?"

Ino gave a small sad giggle, "I know I shouldn't have, but I looked in your diary." Sakura didn't get angry, she was just now sad that someone had found out how much she was suffering. "Do you love him that much, Sakura?" Ino asked while turning to look outside again. Sakura turned around so her back was facing Ino, and gazed down on the floor.

"I… don't know. It's confusing, I miss him so, so much… but yet I feel angry at him for leaving. I know he has his reasons, but we all could have worked it out with him. He could have stayed." Sakura was now trying to hold back the tears that are now flooding her eyes. Ino walked away from the window and went to Sakura. Ino placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and twisted her around so she will be facing her. Sakura, however, wasn't looking up, she was still looking at the ground.

"Sakura, I know you miss him. We all do… But you can't be angry at him for leaving. He was protecting us from harm, and you know how he is, 'Everyone comes first'. He was protecting you…"

Sakura didn't answer, but she looked up and embraced her friend into a hug. She was crying, but not the kind where she moan. She was crying quietly, have her breath skipping every time she breathed in, with a couple hiccups here and there.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry…" Ino said while sliding her hand up and down Sakura's back. It actually took ten minutes for her to finally stop crying. Ino didn't even move an inch from where she was standing with Sakura. Sakura finally moved back, and wiped the last tear on her cheek. Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "I'll answer it, you just wait here." Ino placed Sakura on her bed, and went to the front door. Before she opened, she asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Tenten." Ino then opened the door. "Oh, hey Ino. What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging with Sakura. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm just here to see if there is any luck on the cure. May I come in?" Ino nodded and motioned her in. Tenten looked around and headed towards Sakura's room, while Ino followed from behind. Tenten walked in to find Sakura sitting on her bed, looking down on the ground. "Hey Sakura, what's up?"

Sakura looked up and saw Tenten. She quickly shot up from her bed and quickly hid her sadness. "Hey Tenten! Nothing much, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to know how the cure is coming. So how is it? Tenten asked with confidence written on her face. She was confident that Tsunade and Sakura is getting closer. But her face slowly fell from the sadness on Sakura's face.

"It's not going so good. Like I told Ino, the last vile calmed her down, but she never gotten back to normal. We never gotten anywhere further after that."

Tenten felt sad. She hoped they could finally get closer to heal Hinata, and everyone else. "Well, don't lose hope, Sakura. You and Tsunade will find it." Tenten said with a smile.

"Thank you, anyways, lets move on to another subject."

Ino joined in the conversation, "Hey did you hear that Kakashi, Neji, Shikamaru, and Lee are coming back from there mission soon today."

"Isn't the mission a Search-and-Rescue to Amegakure (Village Hidden in Rain)." Tenten asked. Sakura didn't hear anything about a mission Kakashi and the rest were on. This was a new information to her.

Ino nodded, "I wonder if they found anyone. The report Kazekage-sama got was that the village was destroyed. It will be great if they finally bring a leaf survivor, don't you think?" Both Sakura and Tenten agreed. It will be great if they found someone from their now-destroyed-village. Maybe they will find Shizune, or maybe Hanabi with her.

"Hey, want to get something to eat?" asked Sakura. Tenten's and Ino's face brightened.

"Fuck yeah! I'm hungry!" Ino yelled.

"Goodness Ino, you didn't have to yell." whined Tenten while covering both of her ears.

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Kakashi was ahead of the group that he went on a Search-and-Rescue mission with. Sadly, they did not find any survivors. They were all dead, and even some had been infected. They were tired, tired from hours of looking for survivors. Tired from walking toward the village and back. They just wanted to get back to Suna.

They all walked in silence. It was one of those times where no one wants to talk, no reason behind it. Just a silent walk back to the village. They have now arrived on the boarder of the Wind Country. All they need to do now is to walk across the desert to get to Suna.

Lee broke the silence, "Does anyone have water? I'm all out."

Everyone's face turn to Lee, and Shikamaru pulled out his bottle, "Here is mine." He handed it to Lee and Lee began to chug down. Once he was done, he sighed and handed the bottle back to Shikamaru.

"Thanks, Shikamaru-san." Shikamaru nodded in return and continued to walk.

Kakashi then started to talk to the group, "Alright, it shouldn't be long till we get to Suna. But does anyone want to rest? I know some of you must be tired, we haven't rested all day." Kakashi then saw his team shook their heads no, "Alright, lets keep moving."

Fifteen minutes has gone by slowly, and they are almost halfway there. Suddenly, Kakashi heard footsteps, and it was moving quickly in their direction. He turned around and saw a giant horde of infected running towards them, "Shit, Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, be prepared."

As the group of infected came closer, they were stunned. Not only were regular infected, but there were mutated ones as well. There were at least seven large, muscular monsters; powerful enough to kill a human being to the ground with it's strong fist. Crawlers, as they called them, were quick and agile. They crawl on all fours and they have sharp claws that are said to cut open a human body with one swipe, and lucky for them, there were thirteen of them. Last but not least, Diggers. These monsters are tricky ones, they can dig into the ground hiding from sight. They attack by dragging their prey underground, or jump out of the ground and attack, there were five of these sneaky monsters.

As they waited for the monsters to reach them, Kakashi has already begun to make hand seals.

"**Raiton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" yelled Kakashi, and quickly, four lightning figures came into view. They quickly transformed into Kakashi. The real Kakashi motioned them to attack. Shikamaru unleashed his shadow and aimed it towards the Crawlers. Lee got into his usual fighting stance, and Neji readied his Bakyugan.

The Crawlers quickly dodged the oncoming shadows. They were too quick to get caught in it. The Bunshin's ran towards the big giant mutated ones. One Bunshin ran up and did a back flip to knock the giant back while the other Bunshin jumped up to try to attempt stabbing the giant in the face. However, the giant quickly back handed the Bunshin and the clone burst into electricity, shocking the giants arm. But it did not effect it at all. The regular infected had arrived and Lee, along with Neji, used their Taijutsus to eliminate them.

"YOSH!" Lee yelled out while going multiple attack combinations on the infected. "**Konoha Dai Senpuu**!" cried Lee while doing his powerful spinning kick to his targets. All of a sudden a Digger shot up from the ground and into the air. Lee quickly reacted and jumped up to kick the Digger straight in the head.

Shikamaru grabbed his Kunai and began slashing all the infected that got near him. He spun and slashed one of the infected on its neck, then he quickly kneeled down while creating a rat seal with his hands. His shadow shot out from under him. His shadow swirled forward and latched onto on of the giant infected. He then motioned himself while the giant followed his motions. Shikamaru made attack movements at nothing, while the giant attacked its own kind.

Neji was doing his own Taijutsu, killing the normal infected, and damaging the special ones. He saw something with his Bakyugan from behind, and underground. He saw it moving towards Shikamaru, who was busy controlling one of the infected giants. "Shit, Shikamaru, behind you!" Neji ran with haste towards the infected underground. The monster jumped out of the ground and was about to hit Shikamaru until Neji hit the monster with his palm.

"Neji!" yelled Lee, but Neji saw it. One of the giant infected was behind him with its fist swung… It connected, sending Neji twenty feet away with a broken arm and rib. His arm were deform and unnatural. Everybody was in shock, nobody ever got injured by the infected in a long time. Kakashi leaped towards Neji and kneeled beside him. He was badly hurt, and they need to get out of here. Kakashi picked up Neji, and yelled, "Lee, Shikamaru! Lets go!" Shikamaru was about to leap with Lee towards Kakashi and Neji, when something grabbed one of his legs and yanked him down.

"Ah fuck!" Shikamaru screamed, and Lee reacted. He jumped up and slammed his foot straight down to the ground where the monster is yanking Shikamaru. Shikamaru fell to the ground when the infected let go. Then a Crawler jumped up and aiming to bite Shikamaru. Time slowed down while the infected was getting closer, and closer. All of a sudden something tackled the monster away, something fairly large. Shikamaru blinked twice and looked at his savior. It was a… fox?

Kakashi jumped behind Shikamaru and Lee while carrying Neji. He looked forward and he saw two more giant foxes guarding them, making three in total. All of them were black, with red fierce eyes. They were growling at the infected to back off. Kakashi then saw someone appear, out of nowhere, in front of the four. From what was seen from behind, he was wearing a robe, just like Yondaime, except with black, and orange stripe that ran along the side of the clothing. Black pants, black T-shirt, and of course he was wearing a headband.

The stranger turned his head to look at the group, Kakashi saw blue ocean eyes. He then knew it was Naruto. "Get them out of here. Bring them to Suna."

"Naruto, you can't take them." Everyone's eyes, except Naruto's and Kakashi's, bulged open from what the Jounin said. Naruto just grinned.

"I'll meet you guys there." Naruto then faced the infected, while the foxes gave the four Shinobes a ride back to Suna. Naruto's grin disappeared and his face became serious. His eyes then went from blue to a dark red. His nails grew longer, his teeth grew into sharper. He breathed in and breathed out, then he disappeared. He got on top of one of the giants, grabbed a kunai out of his patch on his leg and poured chakra with Wind Element. He sliced the giant in half, blood squirting, innards falling sliding out. He quickly went to the rest of the giants by running quickly and slash through each one of them with his wind enhanced kunai, killing them all.

One of the crawlers jumped and grabbed Naruto from the back. Naruto reached over his shoulder, grab the Crawler's head and flipped him over him and sliced its neck with his kunai. He then ran around the rest of the infected making them gather around into a group. He then did hand seals, "**Doton Kekkai**!" The ground starts to shake and the a solid half-circular ground covered the infected. Naruto the punched on part of the wall and made a hole. He went through hand seals and thought, '**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**!' He blew in hot fire into the closed structure… well except for the little hole of course. The infected screeched and roared, and after awhile, it became silent.

Naruto then felt something from under him. Hands of the Diggers were gripped on tight on Naruto's ankles. Naruto grabbed the wrist of the infected and plunged his fingers deep into them. The infected let go and went under. Naruto's blood red eyes looked around for the infected underground, but then he found out there were more than one. He prepared himself when he saw two of them coming his way. One jumped up towards Naruto and he punched the infected in the face, but the other came right after and cut Naruto on his right arm. His cut was pouring out quite a bit of blood.

All of a sudden, two Diggers popped out of the ground towards Naruto. Naruto grabbed one and swung it directly at the other Digger. He then made hand seals and yelled out, "**Katon: Hibashiri**!" The fire shot out and surrounded the infected, consuming them in the intense heat. Naruto then quickly grabbed his kunai and sliced the next infected coming at him. Then he saw another one jumped up from behind, so quickly he turned around and threw the kunai directly at the head. It hit right on the eye of the infected, and it dropped dead on the ground.

Naruto then sighed to relax, thinking that was the rest of them. But suddenly, he was flipped into the air. He landed on the soft sand then pounded on when the last Digger jumped and landed on top of him. Naruto was caught by surprised and reacted by pushing his right hand against it's chest. The infected wanted to bite off Naruto's face. Inches from his, chomping its mouth, then Naruto flipped the monster backwards and jumped up and summon a clone to begin creating the **Rasengan**. Naruto then ran, after his clone dispersed, towards the monster and plunged the circling chakra towards the stomach.

The monster screeched in pain while flying backwards from the hit. It hit the ground rolling and didn't get up. Naruto then straightened up, his eyes became blue once more, his claws shortened into regular finger nails, and his teeth began to become normal.

He sighed and walked towards Suna.

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Sakura, Ino, and Tenten were walking after their time of eating. They were walking somewhat near the front entrance of the village, since the restaurant they ate at were right there. They were talking about relationships, and all that good stuff when they heard one of the Sand Shinobi yell, "Everyone get out of the way!" Sakura and her friends turn towards the Shinobi who was on top of one of the tall buildings. They all then gazed down to see Kakashi, Lee, Shikamaru, and Neji on foxes. They then saw Neji, on Kakashi's lap, injured. They all got worried and followed where the foxes went.

They followed until the foxes came to a halt in front of the hospital. They all wondered how they where the hospital was. They then saw their friends get off the foxes and headed inside. They quickly followed, ignoring the foxes. When the got inside, Sakura went up to Neji who was being put on a stretcher. "How bad is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"As your can see, he broke his arm, but he told me that he thinks there is a broken rib." Sakura nodded.

"We'll take care of it, Sakura-san. Today is your day off." one of the nurses said. Sakura was hesitant at first, but she let the nurses do their job. "What the hell happened?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi looked at her and said, "We ran into trouble. We were spotted by the infected."

Ino butted in, "Just be happy you guys weren't bitten."

Kakashi nodded in response and took a seat on of the benches. Sakura felt that there was more that happened to them, but she decided to not say anything. She decided to see if Shikamaru and Lee were alright. She both saw them sitting down. She saw couple bruises and scratches. She walked up to them and asked, "You guys, okay?"

Shikamaru and Lee looked at each other for a quick second. The way they looked at each other told them not to tell her about Naruto. Lee answered first, "Oh, we're fine Sakura-san. Just a bit tired from the attack. My youth still is still within me." Lee then gave her a thumbs-up Gai pose. Sakura smiled and then turn her face towards Shikamaru. He sighed in annoyance, probably from Lee with his usual talk about 'Youth'. Sakura smiled at him and rejoined Tenten and Ino. Sakura and Ino saw Tenten's face. She must be really worried about Neji. Sakura placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder, "He'll be fine."

Tenten just gave Sakura a sincere smiled in response. Kakashi walked in front of the girls, "Okay, I have some news. Someone is coming towards the village. He is the one who saved us from the attack. Kazekage has heard the news from Pakkun. I believe he is on his was to the front entrance to welcome him if he comes. Would you guys want to se him."

'How can one person defeat those infected if the four of them are having trouble dealing with it. I wonder who it is.' "I will, what about you two?" Sakura asked. Ino and Tenten nodded.

"Alright, lets head out. You two can join if you want." Kakashi looked at Shikamaru and Lee. The two got up and followed. The group exited the building and noticed the foxes were still there. They stared and the three black fox stared back.

"You know it's impolite to stare." Everyone was shocked, one of the fox talked. The three foxes got up and walked towards the entrance of Suna. The group then followed, since they were also heading that way. "Kakashi-sensei, where did the fox come from?" Sakura asked while walking.

"Now that I think of it, the foxes were probably Summoning Animals, like me and Dog Summoning. The foxes were our savior's." Sakura was surprised, she never knew there were such things as a Fox Summoning. 'This guy must be strong.' As they were walking, they saw Tsunade walking ahead. Sakura decided to ask her if she wanted to join to meet this new stranger.

"Tsunade-sama! Wait up!" Tsunade twisted around when she heard her student's voice calling her. Tsunade smiled at her.

"So I take it you heard about someone coming, eh Sakura?"

"Wait, you already know?" Sakura asked surprisingly. Tsunade giggled.

"Of course, I wonder who it is. From what I heard from the Kazekage, this guy must be strong." Tsunade motioned her to continue walking, while Ino, Tenten, Shikamaru, Lee , and Kakashi followed behind. It took them about ten minutes to get to the front entrance. They were now walking in between two tall mountain walls. Ahead, they saw Gaara with two Shinobis at his side. They also saw the three black foxes. When they got closer they heard a conversation going.

"Well, I'm still surprised that it was _you _who saved them. I mean, how long has it been since you left?" they heard Gaara speaking. Sakura began to become curious. She thought, 'Since he left? No…' she began to realize, 'It can't be…' She quickly glared at Kakashi, he stared back. Kakashi nodded, knowing that Sakura thought it was Naruto.

Sakura look ahead and began running as fast as she could. Time slowed down for her, getting closer to her destination. She slowed down her pace, and she is now behind Gaara. Gaara felt someone was behind him, so he turned around and saw Sakura. He smiled and moved away for her to walk through. She didn't look at anything else but the man in front of her. But she knew it was Naruto, the whiskers on his cheeks gave it away. She walked towards him and then stopped, leaving a couple of feet between them.

Naruto looked at her, just gazing on her beautiful sight. "Long time no see, huh Sakura-chan?" Naruto smiled but then frowned a little when she didn't answer. Sakura walked up and brought her hand up to his cheeks. She couldn't believe it, her Naruto is back. Her best friend. She started cry and jumped towards him into a tight embrace. She was moaning and weeping, Naruto was surprised about this. She has her arms around his neck while her head rested on his shoulders. He then hugged her back, placing his arms around her waist. She continued to cry, and Naruto began to sway her. "Come on, now Sakura-chan. You know how much I hate seeing you cry. This isn't how you want to say hi to me after four years."

She giggled a little, "(Sniff) Shut up, baka." She felt her anger towards him disappear, and it was filled with happiness and joy.

"Sakura! Who the hell are you hugging!!!!" Sakura grunted at hearing Ino's voice, which made Naruto laugh. For much of Sakura's dismay, she let go of Naruto, wiped the tears away from her face, and faced Ino.

"Come on, Ino. You don't know who this is?" Sakura asked. Ino looked at him in confusion. She shook her head no.

Naruto sighed, "Come on, I bet even Tenten knows who I am." Naruto looked at Tenten, who just stared blankly.

Kakashi walked up and held up his hand for Naruto to shake, "It's nice to see you again, Naruto." Naruto's name echoed in Ino's and Tenten's head. Ino's anime-blush face came into everyone's view, 'Naruto? Looking this good?!' She just couldn't believe she thought the guy in front of her was hot, and it turns out to be Naruto!

"It's good to see you, too Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied back to his old sensei, then he looked at his four old friends in the back, "Shit, you guys look different." Naruto walked up to Shikamaru, "Well if it isn't Shikamaru. What's up?" Naruto and Shikamaru shook hands the same time Shikamaru replied, " Eh, nothing much, Naruto. All to-"

"Troublesome? I know." Naruto interrupted while laughing. He couldn't believe all these years, Shikamaru still thinks everything is troublesome. Naruto then faced Lee, "Ah! How is my youthful friend!" Lee jolted up towards Naruto and saluting him.

"I want to thank you, Naruto-kun! You saved u from those monsters back there, you truly have youth within you!" Naruto laughed while scratching the back of his head. He then faced Ino and Tenten, who were in disbelief that the person in front of them is Naruto. "Well, long time no see, Tenten, Ino. How have you two been?"

"Umm, great! We have been great! Right, Ino?" Tenten said quickly while nudging Ino. Ino nodded quickly. Naruto thought the two girl were acting weird, " Are you two, okay?"

"Great! Great right, Ino?!" Tenten said while laughing nervously. Ino then again nodded her head. He gave them a weird look, then smiled. He truly missed all of them. He then came face to face with someone he was also happy to see. "Hey Baa-chan." Naruto said in a grin. Tsunade then ruffled his hair while smiling. She missed Naruto, he was after-all like a little brother to her.

"How many times did I tell not to call me that." She then gave him a huge hug. Naruto simply returned the hug. He then released the hug and gave her a huge sincere smile.

Naruto then turn around to talk to Kakashi, "How's Neji. Last I saw he was hurt badly."

"It wasn't bad, just a broken arm and rib. It will be fixed in no time." Kakashi answered. Naruto then nodded. Gaara then stepped in to their conversation.

"So, Naruto your staying right?" Naruto stiffened, he didn't want to stay. He still felt he was putting them in danger. He sighed to relieve the tension.

"I just thought I would just visit but then leave after. I'm not planning on staying."

"You can't seriously think your putting us in danger for being here!" Sakura walked in front of his face. "Naruto I know you feel guilty for what you have done to Hinata, but we could bring her back to normal. Me and Tsunade-sama are working on a cure!" Naruto didn't answer, he just stood there looking at Sakura, "Don't you want to stay?"

"Yes, I do but-"

"Then stay… Don't leave…" Naruto sighed while rubbing his hand on his forehead. She looked at his with a worried face. She was worried he was going to leave again, leave her.

"(Sigh) I will stay." Sakura's face turned from worried to happiness. She jumped and gave him a huge hug. "But, you guys have to be cautious. Anything that has my saliva or anything I touch with my mouth, you guys stay away." Everyone's face brightened up, their friend is finally back.

To Be Continued...


End file.
